BCCI takes objection to Richardson’s IPL comments

Taking an exception to Dave Richardson’s remark that the Indian Premier League poses a serious corruption threat, an irate BCCI dashed off a strongly-worded letter to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, accusing the ICC general manager of “unnecessarily raking up the issue”.

According to sources, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, in his e-mail to Lorgat, pointed out that the IPL had put in place comprehensive anti-corruption measures. Shah also rubbished Richardson’s observation that the multi-million dollar league was susceptible to match-fixing because of the excessive cash and hype surrounding it.

“BCCI has specifically objected to Richardson saying that the ‘ICC is concerned’ about the threat of corruption and the potential temptations that come with it,” Shah wrote.

Richardson’s remarks came after ICC’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) chairman Sir Paul Condon in a presentation during the annual conference in Dubai said that the IPL brought with it the biggest threat to the game in terms of corruption since the days of cricket in Sharjah.