Cairns mulls suit against Modi for match fixing slur

WELLINGTON - Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns says he has taken the legal course against suspended Indian Premier Legal Commissioner Lalit Modi over allegations of match fixing.

Cairns was not allowed to participate in the IPL auction after he quit the rebel Indian Cricket League, with Modi claiming that the cricketer was involved in match-fixing during his ICL days.

“I’m currently an interested bystander,” Cairns was quoted as saying in the New Zealand Herald Sunday.

“We are still trying to have Modi served with papers. We’re going through that process in India but it takes time to get through the court system. We’re waiting for him, though.”

“If he decides to go to the UK, we’ll have him served there but it is so difficult to know his movements - especially with all the turmoil he’s embroiled in. It’s frustrating but we’ve initiated the process and just have to wait,” Cairns said.

The irony is that Modi, the founder of the IPL empire estimated, is fighting allegations of financial irregularities.

“We will continue to pursue justice but at the moment he’s also going through a process which needs to reach its conclusion before any judgement is passed.”

“We need to go through the proper channels to find out what to do next. I’m as interested as anybody to see how this pans out,” said Cairns.

He said that he lost a vital opportunity to play for IPL.

“The opportunity is gone now. I’m finished. There was that one window of opportunity in the IPL when I was asked to put my name forward but I’m 40 in three weeks (June 13) so reality dictates, even though a return was a romantic notion.”