Cricket is much better and cleaner now: Justice (Retd.) Mudgal on current day corruption

Justice (Retd.) Mukul Mudgal believes that corruption in cricket has become a lot less nowadays because of the stricter rules and the higher coverage. The retired judge said that cricketers themselves now stay away from any wrongdoing keeping the consequences in mind.

In an exclusive chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda’s Facebook page, Justice (Retd.) Mudgal said cricket is much cleaner now than what it was 6-7 years ago. He added that the new rules and regulations have instilled a fear in the minds of the current crop of players.

“I do believe that cricket with so much scrutiny now and so many safeguards put is better, much, much better. In the sense, now there is a fear in the mind of the current players if you are thinking ‘Look, the consequences are far too serious’,” Justice (Retd.) Mudgal, who was a judge at Delhi High Court, said.

All 13 people were not involved: Justice (Retd.) Mudgal on IPL corruption saga

Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested immediately, but were later acquitted of the charges by the Patiala House Courts. Image Credits: Sportskeeda

Justice (Retd.) Mudgal headed the Mudgal committee in 2014 to probe the allegations of corruption, betting and spot-fixing surrounding the 2013 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Along with then-Additional Solicitor General of India L Nageswara Rao and umpire-turned-advocate Nilay Dutta, Justice (Retd.) Mudgal was appointed by the Supreme Court to conduct an independent inquiry.

Asked about the 13 names that had surfaced, Justice (Retd.) Mudgal said that the Supreme Court has sealed the case and that all 13 of them were not part of the wrongdoings.

“The Supreme Court has sealed it. So, I cannot violate the Supreme Court order. There maybe very good reasons why they sealed it...do not think [in] all 13 names there was something wrong. Only thing is the names were mentioned here and there, so their names are there,” Justice (Retd.) Mudgal, who also served as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, added.

Though the names of those involved never came up, the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were banned for two seasons (2016 and 2017) of the IPL based on the findings of the Mudgal Committee.