Modi tells IPL fans not to stay at Taj Hotels

Indian Premier League (IPL) has a rather surprising request for fans -- stay in hotels other than Taj Hotels run by top corporate house Tata, saying even the teams are not staying there.

Arguably the most controversial cricket administrator IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, said in a post on micro-blogging social networking website Twitter that IPL is "not using Taj Hotels in any city."

Interestingly, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata on Tuesday was named as India's second most trusted public figure in a list compiled by Readers' Digest magazine, which ranked Modi towards the bottom at 97, describing him as the "only sports personality to feature among the trust list's tailenders."

Modi has often found himself in controversies, including over issues related to organisation of IPL.

Modi's comments about Taj Hotels' came in reply to a query on whether the IPL "teams (were) not staying at the Taj in Mumbai."

He, however, did not respond immediately to queries if there is any particular reason for exclusion of Taj or is it because of security concerns.

"Official hotels for IPL are ITC, Trident, Grand Hyatt, Marriot, Park and Four Seasons across India. All fans wanting to stay please use them," Modi said in a tweet message.

Taj's Mumbai seafront property, as also the Trident, bore the brunt of the 26/11 terror strikes in November 2008.

The third season of IPL is scheduled to begin on March 12.

Photograph: Reuters