Modi's corruption panel stays

New Delhi - India's cricket board rejected Wednesday a challenge by suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi to the composition of a panel probing charges of corruption.

Modi said last month he was unwilling to cooperate with the board's current three-man disciplinary committee because two of its members - politician Arun Jaitley and businessman Chirayu Amin - were "biased" against him.

The panel is probing allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering around the hugely successful Twenty20 IPL tournament.

"The request of Mr. Lalit Modi for the recusal of certain members of the disciplinary committee is rejected," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

It also fixed the committee's next hearing for August 18.

Jaitley is BCCI vice-president while Amin is the interim chief of the IPL.

The panel has until October 25 to decide whether action should be taken against Modi, which could include his permanent expulsion from the BCCI.

Modi's troubles began in April when he revealed the ownership details of a new franchise set to join the tournament in 2011.

He involved a high-profile member of the government, junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor, by leaking how Tharoor's girlfriend had been given a free stake in a new team.