IPL 7 should be suspended, says former BCCI president Shashank Manohar

Shashank Manohar

Former BCCI president Shashank Manohar has said that the Indian Premier League should be suspended till the faith in the league is restored. His statement comes after Supreme court told N Srinivasan to step down as the president of BCCI to have a fair investigation in the match-fixing scandal that rocked the nation during the sixth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).

“Considering the latest developments in the BCCI, it is my considered opinion that until the faith of the people in the integrity of the game is restored, the IPL tournament for the year 2014 should be suspended. The Board members should remind themselves that money/profits is neither the aim nor the objective (of the cricket body). The primary duty is to promote a clean game of cricket,” Manohar was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Prominent Indian lawyer and 29th President of BCCI feels that it is important to win the trust of people again before starting the tournament and this can only be done once proper investigation is done. He has urged the board to clean the image of IPL.

“I had said earlier that all IPL matches should first be investigated. Only then can all the erring parties be punished and the clean-up initiated. What has been lately revealed could well be the tip of the iceberg. I feel that a thorough probe needs to be done by CBI as the canvas of the activities extends throughout the country,” said Manohar.

Roughly 14 years back, BCCI took a decision to not play matches in UAE because of the huge net of match fixing in Dubai and now the decision of shifting the first half of IPL 7 to the Middle East will create more bad image for the tournament.

“Many years back, a conscious decision was taken by the BCCI to abstain from matches in the Middle-East in view of certain information regarding rampant betting and match-fixing. As far as I know, that decision has not been revoked. Due to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the decision to shift IPL matches to the Middle-East will further tarnish the image of the tournament,” Manohar said.

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has backed the statement of Shashank Manohar to suspend IPL 7.