Modi calls time on cricket administration 'for now'

Lalit Modi, the former IPL commissioner, has announced his decision to quit all cricket administration "for now", and has stepped aside from the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) by resigning as president of the Nagaur District Association.

In his letter to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, Modi wrote that the system was bigger than the individual and requested the board to release the funds due to the RCA. Modi, 53, was expelled from the BCCI in 2013 and has been in exile owing to money laundering charges by the Enforcement Directorate of India.

The RCA, on the other hand, has remained suspended by the BCCI since the election of Modi as the state body's president in 2014. The board had warned that the RCA's suspension would continue until Modi was removed from the post and also from the primary bodies of the state association. The suspension meant that RCA could no longer access BCCI's funds. Cricket in the state suffered subsequently, with an ad-hoc committee of the BCCI running the show.

However, while Modi continued to head the Nagaur District Association, his son, Ruchir Modi, contested and lost the elections for the RCA's presidency to veteran politician CP Joshi. Eventually, Modi decided that it was time to move on and posted a copy of his letter on Twitter, late on August 11.

"As I hand over the baton, I want to thank everyone in my team over the past two decades at Rajasthan and the BCCI," Modi wrote in his letter to Johri. "We had some great times sculpting and putting together the future of Indian cricket. Now that the future is here, let's hope BCCI and RCA set higher goals. But for Rajasthan to aim higher, we need funds from the BCCI which is our rightful share.

"I have done my part for the betterment of Rajasthan cricket, and now it is your turn to honor your part of the promise. I repose my faith in you and the BCCI to do the right thing. I would, therefore, request you to release the funds due to RCA as soon as possible. I believe it was blocked precisely because of my presence. With my exit from all forms of cricket, at all levels, for ever, I think RCA deserves to reclaim their share and presence on the Indian cricket map. I hope the BCCI under your stewardship lives up to that promise."

Ahead of the 2017-18 domestic season, Modi's exit has offered a glimmer of hope to the RCA, which seeks a return to the mainstream. While a BCCI official agreed that "it paves the way for it", he said that there was a process in place that needed to be adhered to. "First, all the things for the revocation of suspension are to be done," he told ESPNcricinfo.