honcho

Lalit Modi, Shashi Tharoor short-listed for IOA presidency (Satire)

Following the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) are frantically looking out for a successor to the high profile minister.

Two names have been short-listed.

The first is former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi who is currently in London.

The other name bandied about is former Minister of External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor.

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Pune Warriors cheerleaders go ethnic: A job description (Satire)

A news report in the Daily News and Analysis (DNA) quotes Subrata Roy, the Sahara Group honcho and Sahara Pune Warriors owner as saying that the team’s cheerleaders will go ethnic and perform Indian classical dances instead of uninhibited western-style cheerleading.

Job-sites Monster.com and Naukri.com have listed advertisements for the said positions in the Pune-based franchise.

Reproduced below is the promoted advert:

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IPL: The octopus spreads its tentacles to South Africa, Kochi and Lalit Modi in troubled waters

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Cricket South Africa (CSA) reminded us that the tentacles of the IPL mess are not restricted to just Indian and English shores.

CSA have terminated an external investigation into the bonuses paid by Lalit Modi to CSA chief executive Gerald Majola and 40 other staff during the IPL’s second season.

The IPL was moved to South Africa in 2009 following the Indian government’s refusal to provide adequate security for the event because of the clash with the general election. The security apparatus of the state could not be stretched to meet both concerns.

A payment of 4.7 million rands was made to Majola and his associates.

The South African opposition has slammed the switch to an internal investigation as ‘disappointing’.

The Enforcement Directorate(ED) is known to be investigating the payment back in India as apparently there was no tax paid on the foreign exchange transfers.

IPL Road: Kochi dilly-dallies, Modi prevaricates

It has been ominously quiet on the IPL front over the past few days.

Except for news reports that the Enforcement Directorate is studying the BCCI filed FIR against the abrasive Lalit Modi, to fructify their case against his willingness (or unwillingness) to respond to their inquiries. There has been little to report in the Indian press or media.

Lalit Modi and his lawyer claim that they have yet to receive a copy of the FIR filed by the BCCI; this is, of course, a classic delaying tactic to fob off the media until they have studied the ramifications and can respond to the allegations in a coherent manner.

The jurisdiction of the Chennai police has been questioned by Modi and his lawyer.

The ED has issued a Look Out notice that will have Mr. Modi detained at all Indian ports if he attempts to enter the country; the IPL ex-honcho shows no inclination to oblige the authorities, preferring to remain in London with token noises about answering any queries via video conference.

Meanwhile, there still seems no resolution to the dispute within the Kochi consortium with the warring parties unable to come to any sort of arrangement as yet.

Rendezvous, who hold the major chunk of sweat equity are at loggerheads with the other co-owners, namely Anchor Earth, Parinee Developers, Anand Shyam Estates and Vivek Venugopal. Only Filmwave Combines are fine with letting Rendezvous continue in the Kochi consortium with management control.

Rendezvous are willing to buy their sweat equity as long as they retain a say in management matters but doubts are expressed by their partners about the source of their funding and whether the infusion of funds would pass muster with the IT department and ED.

Shashi Tharoor has not been consulted this time around; it is considered best to keep the politician at bay while discussing business matters.

The clock is ticking for the Kochi franchisee and the BCCI must be hoping for a quick resolution, or else it will be a case of even more mud-slinging in the media.

Sunanda Pushkar, now Tharoor’s spouse, has relinquished her stake and is thus no longer a factor in the mediation.

Is this the lull before the storm? Or is it the eye of the storm?

The road to IPL 4 has never seemed more bumpy or more full of obstacles and potholes. Will road rage win the day?

Note: This is an updated version of the earlier article.