India's cricket chiefs Saturday named the disciplinary committee that will decide the fate of Lalit Modi, the suspended boss of the scandal-hit Indian Premier League. Junior Federal Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will sit alongside politician-lawyer Arun Jaitley and businessman Chirayu Amin in the three-man committee, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced. Scindia, 39, replaced BCCI President Shashank Manohar, who opted to step down from the panel after Modi - who faces allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering - accused him of bias. Modi's lawyer Mehmood Abdi had written to the BCCI demanding that Manohar leave the committee because he had “reasons to believe there was some bias or prejudice against Modi”. Jaitley and Amin are both vice presidents of the BCCI, while Scindia, son of former Indian cricket chief Madhavrao Scindia, heads the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. “The disciplinary committee will decide what action must be taken against Modi,” Manohar told reporters, without specifying the time-frame by which a decision must be made. The BCCI, owner of the hugely popular IPL, suspended Modi after the third edition of the tournament ended in April following the raft of allegations against him, which also sparked a government investigation. Modi, 46, has submitted written replies to the charges that include rigging bids, holding proxy stakes in teams and receiving kickbacks in return for broadcasting deals. He is also accused of planning an IPL-style league in England without the knowledge of the BCCI or the England and Wales Cricket Board. Modi has also been suspended as one of the five vice presidents of the BCCI and removed as chairman of the T20 Champions League, a separate club tournament organized jointly by India, Australia and South Africa. Waugh slams ICC Australia great Steve Waugh Friday blasted the International Cricket Council's decision to block the bid of former Australia prime minister John Howard to become president of the global governing body. “I think it was a real shame, I think he would have been fantastic for world cricket,” former Australia captain Waugh said at a press conference held by the MCC's World Cricket Committee at Lord's Friday. “He has a passion for the game and he is a very good diplomat. I think he would have had the ability to bring people and boards together and I think it was a mistake not appointing him.” Howard, a passionate cricket lover, was put forward as Australia and New Zealand's joint candidate for the ICC's rotating vice presidency, with the expectation he would be rubber-stamped as its president two years later.
