Lalit Modi is not solely responsible for the mess that the IPL finds itself in and the Governing Council should also be held responsible for the financial scandal that has rocked the event, former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said.
The IPL Governing Council members are 13 in number:
Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, S. Manohar, Rajeev Shukla, Arun Jaitley, Farooq Abdullah, N Srinivasan, Chirayu Amin, Sanjay Jagdale, MP Pandove, MAK Pataudi, Niranjan Shah, and IS Bindra,
Modi was suspended from the post of IPL Commissioner and other BCCI posts, pending an enquiry into alleged financial irregularities committed by him.
"Governing Council is to be equally blamed. They are supposed to ratify the decisions taken by Lalit Modi. All these things have tarnished the image of the game," Vengsarkar told reporters on the sidelines of a book launch here.
The former skipper said the Indian Cricket Board should work towards cleaning the image of the game.
"It's a simple and beautiful game. We have become a laughing stock for the world and it is very important that the BCCI restores the image of the game," he said.
Talking about India's chances at the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, he said, "IPL was a very good platform going into the Twenty20 World Cup. It has provided very good match practice for a lot of players. Lot of talented youngsters have played in the IPL so we have a very good team, we should do well."
Vengsarkar said explosive opener Virender Sehwag's absence has opened the gate of opportunity for young players. "Sehwag is an integral part of the team and he would be missed. But it also provides opportunity for others which they should grab," he said.
