<p>The latest spot fixing scandal to hit the Indian Premier League is a severe blow to cricket in this country and a black mark on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which administers the game. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The BCCI, which has hit a jackpot with the IPL, has been extremely callous and lackadaisical about putting in place a strong mechanism to weed out corruption, even after five 'fringe' players were caught last year and were banned from the game for their involvement in spot-fixing. Perhaps, the BCCI let its guard down thinking that the punishment to the five errant players would have acted as a deterrent to the others. But S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan have shown that cricket is still not free from the clutches of bookies and the players are still vulnerable to easy money. The BCCI should take this episode as a lesson and fortify its efforts to cleanse the IPL. The trio, if pronounced guilty, should not only face criminal charges, but be banned from the game, because there’s no greater deterrent than fear.<br /><br />The fact that the scandal came to light due to some meticulous work by Delhi Police and not because of the efforts of the BCCI's anti-corruption cell tells its own tale. The BCCI cannot shut it eyes any more and will have to draft the services of best of sleuths to ensure that corruption is rooted out. Of course, the betting mafia will pose further challenges, but with swift and decisive action the Indian cricket board can convince the fans about its seriousness to fight the menace of match fixing. There’s no doubt that many players – past and present – have benefitted from the riches of IPL, but there has been complaint of lack of transparency.<br /><br />Now, the BCCI should be more open about its efforts to tackle the fixing, or else the public would lose its faith in the league and that could be permanently damage what's touted as a show piece of world cricket. The BCCI should start its efforts by educating players. The governing body has taken such steps in the past, but there have not been much clarity or openness about them, and the BCCI must tread different path this time. The onus is also on the players. It’s certainly not possible to police the game completely, but BCCI should show alacrity in its actions to make sure that nothing will be brushed under the carpet. </p>
<p>The latest spot fixing scandal to hit the Indian Premier League is a severe blow to cricket in this country and a black mark on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which administers the game. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The BCCI, which has hit a jackpot with the IPL, has been extremely callous and lackadaisical about putting in place a strong mechanism to weed out corruption, even after five 'fringe' players were caught last year and were banned from the game for their involvement in spot-fixing. Perhaps, the BCCI let its guard down thinking that the punishment to the five errant players would have acted as a deterrent to the others. But S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan have shown that cricket is still not free from the clutches of bookies and the players are still vulnerable to easy money. The BCCI should take this episode as a lesson and fortify its efforts to cleanse the IPL. The trio, if pronounced guilty, should not only face criminal charges, but be banned from the game, because there’s no greater deterrent than fear.<br /><br />The fact that the scandal came to light due to some meticulous work by Delhi Police and not because of the efforts of the BCCI's anti-corruption cell tells its own tale. The BCCI cannot shut it eyes any more and will have to draft the services of best of sleuths to ensure that corruption is rooted out. Of course, the betting mafia will pose further challenges, but with swift and decisive action the Indian cricket board can convince the fans about its seriousness to fight the menace of match fixing. There’s no doubt that many players – past and present – have benefitted from the riches of IPL, but there has been complaint of lack of transparency.<br /><br />Now, the BCCI should be more open about its efforts to tackle the fixing, or else the public would lose its faith in the league and that could be permanently damage what's touted as a show piece of world cricket. The BCCI should start its efforts by educating players. The governing body has taken such steps in the past, but there have not been much clarity or openness about them, and the BCCI must tread different path this time. The onus is also on the players. It’s certainly not possible to police the game completely, but BCCI should show alacrity in its actions to make sure that nothing will be brushed under the carpet. </p>
