Mumbai:
The star-studded Indian Premier League awards ceremony in Mumbai tonight is set to be the next big battleground in the raging cricket war.
Sources have told NDTV that most officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are planning to boycott the awards function, to be held at a five-star hotel this evening.
Many of these officials are in Mumbai already to attend the IPL finals on Sunday, but may avoid attending the function as a show of solidarity with BCCI chief Shashank Manohar and as a move against Lalit Modi.
IPL team-owners are also believed to be undecided on whether to send their players, though several celebrity owners are also slated to perform at the function.
According to sources, the franchises are upset about the Income Tax raids and the gala awards night going on side by side.
The Income Tax Department will be keeping a close watch on the show to monitor how the money has been spent. It will also look into the contracts for event management and telecast.
Director Karan Johar will host tonight's show and IPL team owners Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, actress Priyanka Chopra and some top cricketers are expected to perform.