COVER STORY:
Indian Cricket Needs Fixing: Fans Infuriated Over Match-Fixing Scandal
Just when we were beginning to believe, for a change, that this IPL season would end without any major controversy, the spot-fixing scandal happened. Issues of the past such as party brawls, cheerleaders in scant clothing, and Shah Rukh Khan losing his temper, seem trivial in comparison. The very spirit of the game is in question, writes Siddharth Srivastava.
(Above): A protester kicks a burning effigy of BCCI president N. Srinivasan during a protest demanding his resignation, in Kolkata, May 26. Mumbai police apprehended Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of Srinivasan, and a key official of the Indian Premier League’s Chennai franchise, in connection with a spot-fixing scandal that has also led to the arrest of three cricketers. Rajasthan Royals bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two other cricketers were arrested on suspicion of taking money to concede a fixed number of runs in an over. The police have intensified investigations to discover the extent of the scandal. [Photo: REUTERS]
Towel, handkerchief, warm up, no ball, fake injury, strategic timeouts, who knows even the Gangnam dance may be signals to bookies, clients and cricketers to make even more money. Even as the sixes rain turning cricket fans delirious, a deeper sinister plot has been etched. A Bollywood star could be a bookie, a bookie a cricketer, a BCCI big wig, the mastermind.
Going by the latest revelations, a T-20, IPL cricket match sounds like a dubious government contract in defense, telecom or coal mining, involving fixers, dealers, middlemen, crony capitalists, all in the business of getting filthy rich by embezzaling tax payers’ money or making a fool of cricket fans and sponsors, as the case may be.
It is no surprise, Delhi police chanced upon Sreesanth, among others, on bookie payroll, while phone-tapping suspected underworld gangsters in Dubai as part of their anti-terror intelligence work.
(Above): Rajasthan Royals bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth denies involvement in spot-fixing.
 Though attention has been on the temperamental Sreesanth and a few others subsisting on the fringes of cricketing fame and money, this is just the tip of the iceberg, with the betting trail only turning murkier by the hour.
At the time of writing this piece, the cops had picked up small time actor Vindoo Singh, suspected to be a conduit between bigger Bollywood stars, more cricketers and bookies. Vindoo is a rich man. He is the son of late legendary wrestler and actor Dara Singh. Prospects of big money lured him into an illegal existence.
Pictures of Vindoo seated alongside Sakshi Dhoni during an IPL match do not look good, reminding one of photos of another era when cricketers hobnobbed with the likes of Dawood Ibrahim as was the case at Sharjah, UAE.
Vindoo has supposedly been in constant touch with the son-in-law of the BCCI chief N. Srinivasan who is the owner of Chennai Super Kings that M.S. Dhoni captains. Vindoo has reportedly said that he is close to Virat Kohli and Harbhajan Singh. While it is true that anybody that Vindoo might have said hello is not a criminal, there is a definite stink in the air.
It is well known that big value wagers are placed on almost every cricket match of note, it is not clearly established the extent of pressure that cricketers face to tailor or tank matches or spot fix. Could franchise owners, for example, pressure a Dhoni or a Dravid to keep bookies happy, given the big money involved?
Illegal cricket betting syndicates that play around with billions of dollars worldwide have managed to infiltrate big names in the past — Hansie Cronje, Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif, Salim Malik to name a few. Then there has been controversy about Ajay Jadeja and Mohammad Azharuddin, both cricket icons in India. Till Cronje was cornered he was a South African hero.
Thankfully, the cricket-crazy Indian fan still believes in the game signified by the large turnout at the CSK, Mumbai Indians match even as Delhi cops replayed to the media, the infamous Sreesanth over to Adam Gilchrist. Fans believe genuine cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid or M.S. Dhoni play the game hard and fair, unlike, say, in politics, where the integrity of even somebody like Manmohan Singh is under scrutiny.
However, given the disillusionment with Indian politics, the cricket fan cannot be taken for granted. There are reports that image conscious sponsors such as Pepsico may cancel their IPL contracts. Maybe, the Supreme Court will put a stop to IPL till matters are properly investigated. Solutions need to be found.
For one, it may be a good idea to make betting legitimate, as it is in many parts of the world, as Geoffrey Boycott has said. This will eliminate some seedy characters, allowing gambling under the aegis of established entities.
For example, I would not mind placing a bet, online or otherwise, on Sehwag lasting more than an over, winning a lot of money in the process. This should be fun, not a crime as it is now. Why should I need to click through a porn website coded to an illicit gambling interface?
The cricket administration needs to get its act right. While cops and media sting operations expose corrupt cricketers, it is the job of the BCCI and ICC to devise internal mechanisms to ensure that the game is played fair. Or else, the IPL league risks being hoisted out of the ground for good. That would be the last six.
|
!-- Start Alexa Certify Javascript -->
Siddharth Srivastava is India correspondent for Siliconeer. He lives in New Delhi.
