VADODARA, Feb 22: Venues for the ICC’s Champions Trophy later this year remained undecided on Wednesday after infighting broke out in India’s rich but faction-ridden cricket board.

The BCCI, which had to finalise the venues by Tuesday, instead launched a probe for alleged financial irregularities by its former chief Jagmohan Dalmiya.

The BCCI has accused Dalmiya, a former ICC president, of bungling accounts relating to the 1996 World Cup which India hosted jointly with its South Asian neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi claimed that Dalmiya had committed a multi-million dollar fraud which warranted a criminal investigation, a charge backed by the board’s current treasurer N. Srinivasan.

“The issue relates to financial transactions that were made without informing the relevant authorities,” Srinivasan said.

“It is a matter of grave concern and some action has to be taken.”

Dalmiya, whose group was ousted by political heavyweight Sharad Pawar in the bitterly-contested BCCI elections in November, rubbished the accusations against him.—AFP