IPL spot-fixing: A Pandora's Box

One fine evening in April, 2008, the Indian couch potato was browsing through the T.V. channels, as was his daily norm. In doing so, he came upon a certain cricket match being played between two teams wearing never-before-seen jerseys. Overcome by curiosity, he stayed put on that channel. He saw two Indian cities, with some foreign players as well, competing on a cricket field. He saw a certain Brendon McCullum bludgeon his way to 154 runs off just 80 deliveries. Never before had he seen such fireworks from the batsman’s blade. Never before had he heard packed stadiums chanting “Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo”. Never before had he seen young women, dressed in shorts , dancing seductively, every time the cricket ball reached the fence. What he was witnessing was history in the making. What was he watching was “Cricketainment”. He was watching the Indian Premier League.

If you thought that this was meant to be just a whiplash, and would gradually fade away, well, then you could not be farther from the truth. The Indian Premier League was here to stay. With each passing season, its popularity grew exponentially. The people were able to see cricket, cheerleaders, film stars, all packed in one 3 hour show. Naturally, the sponsors started paying astronomical amounts for broadcast slot during the matches. Players were auctioned, as if some commodity, to various franchises in exchange of huge amounts of money. Players were started to be given salaries equivalent to a year’s income playing for their respective boards. No wonder, the International Cricket Council (ICC) was alarmed by this uneasy development. They saw the IPL as a cash-carrot to lure the players away from international cricket. Their fear turned to reality when several players chose the IPL over their country. However, they were not to be blamed, for, the glamour, glitz and money on offer was too good to refuse.

But as the Indian cricket lover was relishing the “Cricketainment” on offer, the unscrupulous elements were salivating at the potential prospect of easy money. With no strict rules and regulations regarding a player’s movements during the IPL, it was a field day for the bookmakers. Players were fixed, matches were rigged, and all this while, nobody cast a shadow of doubt on the integrity of the players. Everyone was happy, the viewer, the player, and the bookmaker. Until one day, everything changed…

Shantakumaran Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajay Chandila were arrested by the Delhi police on charges of spot-fixing. These 3 players, all from the Rajasthan Royals, had nowhere to escape as phone conversations, matchplay and every other evidence were made public. A frantic comb operation was launched and several bookies were arrested. As the bookies were questioned and investigation took its natural course, ghastly facts were revealed. A horrific tale of deceit, politics and corporate arm-twisting were revealed to the world. Everyone, from filmstars to corporate honchos, is under the scanner of the police. Even the president of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), Mr. N.Srinivasan, could not escape the radar of the investigators. The cricket fraternity of the world, which, till the other day, marvelled at the overwhelming success of the cash-awash league, are now raising fingers at Indian cricket. The worst hit, however, is the cricket-loving Indian. In a country where cricket is a religion, the gods have fallen in the eyes of the disciples and their trust and belief have been destroyed permanently.

This, however, might just be the tip of the iceberg. In the coming times, with proper and stringent investigations, many more sordid tales may be revealed. It reminds one of the Pandora’s Box, read in high school, the opening of which led to influx of evils n the society. However, the police agencies and the other such agencies must not back-off at the sight of such ghastly truths which may have the potential to rip Indian cricket to shreds. Every fact that is discovered, must be shown the light of the day. The cancer of spot-fixing, first seen in 2000, has come back to haunt. Back then, the chapter was closed hurriedly after sacrificing some scapegoats and a few mere pawns of this saga. Now, it is our second chance to eradicate it. Let us not waste it…

Indian cricket has a disease, let its roots be discovered, only then a vaccine can be formulated…..