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IPL matches should be cancelled: Thackeray

(PTI) Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has said that IPL matches should be cancelled to "save" cricket and their source of the funding be probed.

"The undressing of cricket in the ongoing Lalit Modi-Shashi Tharoor row is a matter of concern," Thackeray said in a statement in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' today.

All this is going on for money, Thackeray alleged and demanded a probe against all cricketers involved.

The Sena chief also said that he was "sad to see Mumbai Indians losing against KKR after eight to 10 consecutive wins.

"How can the team lose? How can important players remain absent?" he asked.

"It is a given that victory and defeat are a part of the game. However, there is reason to doubt if the game result is not at the behest of bookies," Thackeray said.

"It should be probed from where do industrialists and people like actor Shah Rukh Khan bring in the money to buy IPL teams," he said.

"If the government has an iota of shame, it should immediately cancel IPL matches and save cricket," Thackeray added.

Ban IPL to save cricket, says Bal Thackeray

(PTI) Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today demanded a ban on the controversial Indian Premier League (IPL) "to save cricket".

"The ongoing controversy involving IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor has maligned the image of the 'gentleman's game'. Ban the IPL to save the game of cricket," he said in a statement tonight.

Lambasting the UPA Government, he said if it was really concerned about the popular sport, they should immediately ban the BCCI-backed cash-rich tournament.

"What is this Modi, Modi going on. The entire controversy revolves around money so probe all the cricketers involved in IPL-3," he said.

The Sena chief, an ardent cricket fan, wondered how come the Reliance Group-owned Mumabi Indians, who were on a winning spree in the IPL-3, all of a sudden lost to Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders in a match yesterday.

Without naming Shah Rukh's team, he said there is a need to probe how come KKR won yesterday's match and why key MI players -- Sachin Tendulkar, Lasith Malinga and Kieron Pollard -- did not play. Was there any betting involved behind this?, he asked.

He also demanded a probe into the wealth of actors and businessmen who have pumped in huge amount of money in IPL franchisees.

RR's co-owner Shilpa Shetty supports Lalit Modi

Mumbai, Apr 21 (PTI) Lalit Modi, under the Income Tax department's scanner for financial irregularities, continues to get the backing of the IPL franchise owners with Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty defending the event's embattled Commissioner.

"I support Lalit as someone who has been part of IPL. It is Lalit's brain child. Because of Lalit IPL happened," Shilpa told PTI here.

"If there is something murky happening behind the scenes, I am unaware about it and in that case, let law take its own course. However, people should not jump to conclusions. Till you are not proven guilty, you are not guilty," she said.

"We must not forget that it was Lalit who made IPL successful in the overseas market. We must give him that credit. It is all because of his effort that IPL has become successful across the world," she said.

Shilpa's statement comes in the wake of recent media reports of an Income Tax department probe revealing that Modi holds a silent stake in three IPL teams - the Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab.

"I don't understand what is happening. Every day, new things are coming out. As far as our (Rajasthan Royal) papers are concerned, we have all legal documents. About the remaining teams, I have no idea. I don't know who is involved and from where has the money come," the actress said.

"As an Indian, I think we all should be proud of IPL. It has generated not just a lot of revenue but also pride in the sporting space and created job opportunities. IPL has been good in a lot of ways," Shilpa added.