He was notified immediately after the last ball was bowled in the final match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

The BCCI governing council, which met on Monday morning, appointed Baroda Cricket Association Chief Chirayu Amin as interim IPL commissioner.

In an e-mail sent to Modi, the BCCI informed him that he was being suspended, accusing him of bid rigging and conducting shady television and internet rights deals, among others. He has been given 15 days to respond.

Modi did not refer to his suspension in his speech at an awards ceremony, but he did begin attacking his detractors and said that all decisions relating to the IPL were taken in a transparent manner.

He said that if there were any charges of flouting rules and any other irregularities, he was prepared to take full responsibility for it.

"Fear not what is not real, never was and never will be. What is real, always was and cannot be destroyed," he said.

Amin said that his immediate task was to clean up the IPL and to begin planning for next year’s competition.

Several politicians from the ruling Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), including the NCP chief and federal minister for agriculture Sharad Pawar and federal minister for civil aviation Praful Patel, were also accused of involvement in the scandal.

This forced deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Chhagan Bhujbal to come out in defense of the accused.

"The IPL is not an anti-national organization. Several investors have invested their shares in the IPL. It's wrong to hold everyone responsible and guilty for the mistake of one single individual,” he said at the NCP base in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.

“The guilty will be exposed after the completion of an inquiry. Pawar has nothing to do with the controversy or the issue. However, some parties are trying hard to involve him in the issue and create trouble for him.

“Because of the IPL good and talented cricketers from all states in the country had an opportunity to play and received hefty pay packets. Due to the acts of one person, the IPL has been tainted black. Some investors have bought some cricket teams and heavily invested in it by way of purchasing shares and it would not be fair to draw the conclusion that they have all landed in trouble because of their investments,” he added.

Politician Shashi Tharoor has already resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs because of his alleged involvement in the IPL controversy.