Chris Cairns to sue Lalit Modi

Chris Cairns has announced he intends to sue Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi for comments made in relation to the IPL's decision to withdraw Cairns' name from the initial list of potential players.

Modi's comments appeared on his Twitter page and also in an interview with Cricinfo. "The allegation made by Lalit Modi that I have been involved in match fixing is scandalous and wholly untrue," Cairns said in a statement issued by Andrew Fitch-Holland, his solicitor. "For him to circulate such a falsehood around the world is outrageous. Mr. Modi's allegation has caused me huge personal distress and professional damage.

"I cannot allow these slurs to ruin my future and I have instructed my solicitors, Collyer Bristow LLP, to bring proceedings for defamation against Mr. Modi".

"This situation has really caused Chris terrible upset," Fitch-Holland told Cricinfo. "There appear to be a lot of negative feelings against him being generated as a result of Modi's comments.

"This is both hurtful and distressing for Chris but also damaging to his future prospects. We immediately took advice from Rhory Robertson at Collyer Bristow here in London, who is a leading specialist lawyer with extensive experience in both defamation and professional sports.

"Having spent much of the last day seeking this expert advice, we will now move quickly to fight the damage being done to Chris' reputation."

When contacted by Cricinfo, Modi said: " We will deal with it as and when it arrives."