The ICC has confirmed through a spokesperson that its chief executive, David Richardson, had indeed received a... Read More

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday confirmed to TOI through a spokesperson that its chief executive, David Richardson, had indeed received a letter from former IPL boss Lalit Modi in June 2013 informing him about a leading Mumbai-based builder making lavish gifts to the tune of Rs 60 crore to three international cricketers.

READ ALSO: Modi names two Indian cricketers who were bribed

In a letter that suddenly surfaced on Twitter on Friday, Modi was quoted saying, "Three players, Ravindra Jadeja , Dwayne Bravo and Suresh Raina , are in close contact with real estate tycoon Baba Diwan of HDIL. Reliable sources have informed me that he has paid in cash and kind (flats) to the above three in tune of Rs 20 crore each."

READ ALSO: The Lalit Modi mystery

The ICC spokesperson said, "The ICC confirms that Mr Modi's confidential email, which was received in June 2013, and which has recently been published on Twitter, was provided to the ACSU at the time. The ACSU handled the information in accordance with its standard operating procedures, which included sharing it with BCCI's anti-corruption unit," the spokesperson said.

Former BCCI ACSU chief Ravi Sawani , who was heading the unit then, told TOI that although the ICC had shared the details with BCCI's ACSU, it was actually for the ICC to investigate the allegations. "The players mentioned in Modi's letter are international cricketers. The BCCI ACSU only looks into domestic tournaments and players. ICC's ACSU chief YP Singh said that they would be looking into the issue. Since Modi had not mentioned anything about the IPL in his letter, we did not pursue it," Sawani said.

When asked if the ACSU had ever heard about Dewan, Sawani said he "wouldn't like to comment on the internal affairs of the ACSU. His company is a sponsor with one of the franchises in IPL. That is all that I can tell you."

Despite repeated efforts, Dewan remained unavailable for comment. Raina and Jadeja remained unreachable too.

In the letter, Modi alleged that Raina had been given flats in Delhi's Vasant Vihar and Noida and that Jadeja had got a sea-facing apartment in a new building in Bandra owned by Dewan's real estate firm. Dwayne Bravo, according to Modi, had been paid in cash.

All the three players mentioned in Modi's email to Richardson play for the Chennai Super Kings franchise, whose holding company India Cements has been at the centre of the Supreme Court's observations on the betting controversy surrounding the IPL.

In June 2013, when Modi wrote the letter, a section of BCCI officials had revolted against India Cements MD N Srinivasan, whose role as cricket board president in the backdrop of betting and spot-fixing allegations was being questioned. Board officials Sanjay Jagdale (then secretary), Ajay Shirke (treasurer) and Jyotiraditya Scindia (vice-president) had resigned in protest back then. Former Baroda Cricket Association official Sanjay Patel had been given the interim charge as BCCI secretary while Srinivasan was about to temporarily step aside as board president.

Senior BCCI officials TOI spoke to, refused to comment on the development. While some questioned the authenticity of Modi's sources who, he claims, provided him the information, others said that it wouldn't be right to respond to allegations without real evidence.

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READ THIS IN HINDI: ICC ने माना, ललित मोदी का बेटिंग का मेल सही