Cricket Association of Bihar Secretary Aditya Verma on Sunday "shot off a letter" to the Int'l Cricket Council seeking clarification on allegations against three int'l cricketers' "involvement in 'illegal things,'" according to IANS. Former Indian Premier League Chair Lalit Modi "alleged on Saturday that Indian cricketers Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and West Indian Dwayne Bravo had taken bribes from a bookie who was also a builder." The trio are all members of IPL side Chennai Super Kings. Modi claimed through a series of tweets on Saturday that real estate tycoon of HDIL.co Baba Diwan had "given apartments to the players in addition to money." He said that when he was the IPL chairman he "had banned him [Baba] from bidding for any IPL teams." Modi also posted a letter that he claimed he wrote to ICC CEO Dave Richardson in June '13, "passing all the information and urging him to act upon it." Verma also addressed his letter to Richardson, "urging him to save the integrity and credibility of the ICC." In the letter, Verma wrote, "It is my humble request to you kindly save the integrity and credibility of ICC" (IANS, 6/28). CRIC BUZZ's K. Shriniwas Rao reported a letter written by Modi to Richardson alleging that a top Mumbai builder had made lavish gifts worth Rs 20 crore ($3.2M) each to three leading IPL cricketers surfaced suddenly on Twitter, "generating intense buzz and prompting a quick response from Modi that the matter was 'confidential' and should not have been aired in this manner." The letter "talks of one cricketer being gifted a property in south Delhi, another in Mumbai's posh western suburbs and the third, it states, was paid in cash." Modi asked Richardson in the letter to "keep a close watch on this individual, who 'is known to bet'" $10M-$20M a game (CRIC BUZZ, 6/27). The PTI reported the ICC on Sunday confirmed that it had received a letter from Modi in '13 in which he "alleged that three players were bribed by a business tycoon." The ICC on Sunday "posted a statement on its website regarding the email and clarified that it acted as per standard procedure." An ICC statement said that its Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU) "handled that information in accordance with its standard operating procedures," which included sharing it with the Board of Control for Cricket in India's anti-corruption unit (PTI, 6/28).
AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION: INDIAN TELEVISION reported the ICC board has "unanimously decided to suspend the membership" of the USA Cricket Association with immediate effect. The decision to suspend USACA was made after "careful consideration of the findings set out in a recently constituted review group report" to the ICC Board on the Status & Activities of USACA. The review group, in its comprehensive report, has "expressed 'significant concerns about the governance, finance, reputation and cricketing activities of USACA.'" The suspension means that USACA will not be "entitled to receive any ICC funding" nor will it be entitled to determine whether cricket matches and events staged in the U.S. should have the "status of approved or disapproved cricket." However, the ICC board, in its "absolute discretion and considering that the players should not suffer due to this suspension, has confirmed it will allow the USA cricket team to participate in next month’s ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 in Ireland and Scotland" (INDIAN TELEVISION, 6/28).
