Cricket’s five-letter F-word: FIXED

Soon,the police arrested another former Rajasthan Royal pacer Amit Singh,who they claimed was a bookie,a middle-man between players and bookmakers.

Ironically,these players came from the same franchise — Rajasthan Royals — that was captained by Rahul Dravid,one of India’s most respected cricketers.

Every day,unconfirmed reports added to the intrigue and soon the Mumbai Police said they had evidence of wrongdoing against Gurunath Meiyappan,Chennai Super Kings owner N Srinivasan’s son-in-law. A Bollywood connection too cropped up when Vindoo Dara Singh,son of veteran actor and MP Dara Singh,was also booked in the case. The IPL which had been the centre of attraction of the cricketing world,was soon in disarray. An air of scepticism hovered over IPL and its star performers.

It was in this setting that Mumbai Indians clinched their maiden IPL title. It was a moment of joy for a team which despite having all the resources had never won the IPL trophy,but the triumph went virtually unnoticed.

All the hard work done in those humid Indian summers seemed to be wasted as the entire season was reviewed by fans suspiciously. When Mumbai won,the celebratory victory-lap seemed contrived,and the very success of MI and its young captain Rohit Sharma looked to be undermined by the dark shadow of the controversy. The climax lost its ability to surprise — and the basic essence of cricket seemed to be lost for the time being.

Even after the IPL concluded,rumours abounded of more cricketers’ names cropping up in the probe. Soon,another co-owner of Rajasthan Royals,Raj Kundra,was questioned by police and fears of the rot running deep seemed to be coming true. An owner involved in betting meant everything from the finances to the fall of wickets needed to be questioned and the Royals,who had been the most dynamic narrative of the season,had received another set-back.

In those tough days as a “cricket lover”,BCCI president N Srinivasan refused to step down despite pressure from several quarters. He even referred to his son-in-law Meiyappan a ‘cricket enthusiast’ rather than the (then) team principal,who many had seen at IPL auctions.

BCCI,which was under pressure to act tough,seemed to fight shy of punishing their own. The board suspended the cricketers concerned and called for an inquiry,even as a couple of conscientious officials resigned. Although they banned Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan for life,they went easy on their franchise officials. Even Srinivasan was later given a clean-chit.

As for cricket fans,people who worshipped the game,stood for hours to buy tickets,braved blows from police to enter the stadium,the investigation and BCCI’s response was never sufficient. The image of cricket had once again taken a hit but the Indian board didn’t show any sign of remorse. They were answerable to the average Indian cricket fan but the way the issue was dealt with baffled many. BCCI floated a committee that drew a list of measures to clean up cricket,but only a few even got tabled.

It will be a tough task for BCCI’s anti-corruption body to put an end to this. However,when IPL-7 begins next year,Indian fans are likely to shrug off a misdirected delivery as a fluke,not a ‘fix’. But what seemed like a farce this season could end in tragedy if wrongdoings keep chipping away at trust.

devendra.pandey@expressindia.com