Controversy over Kochi IPL team to be resolved soon: Modi

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi on Sunday exuded confidence of resolving the controversy over ownership of Kochi franchise saying he had no personal issue either with the team owners or Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.

"It is not Modi vs Tharoor. It is not BJP vs Congress or any other political party or political leader.

"My priority is cricket and we would resolve the entire issue at the earliest," he said.

Modi, who is here to attend the International Cricket Council's (ICC) quarterly meeting on behalf of BCCI president Shashank Manohar, said, "Kochi issue would be resolved. I am confident the Kochi team will continue and contribute to the success of IPL."

He said he would take up all the issues relating to Kochi team, whose new chairman Harshad Mehta is understood to have met him this morning, to IPL Governing Council, which is scheduled to meet shortly.

Although no details were available about the meeting between the two, Modi said that his sole interest was to promote IPL, which was created jointly by everybody including all teams and BCCI and for whose success everybody is working together.

Asked about the issues being raised between him and Tharoor including the sweat equity held by Minister's friend Sunanda Pushkar, Modi declined to comment saying that everything would be set right.

Pushkar came into news for getting sweat equity worth about Rs 70 crore free of cost on behalf of Rendezvous Sports World, the owner of Kochi franchise.

Modi and Tharoor have been engaged in a public spat over the Kochi IPL team and the mater has turned into a political storm with the opposition demanding Tharoor's resignation.