Stronger anti-corruption laws on agenda

In order to prosecute players, match officials and franchise owners found guilty of corrupt practices in domestic T20 leagues such as IPL, the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) is likely to recommend stronger anti-corruption laws to its members.

Sir Ronnie Flannagan, the chairman of the ACSU, is expected to address these concerns during ICC’s annual conference that had begun here on Tuesday.
According to ‘ESPNcricinfo’, Flannagan is expected to highlight the threats and challenges, and give recommendations to ICC members on how to curb the dangers of corruption in cricket.

These concerns come in the wake of various scandals relating to spot-fixing and betting in lucrative domestic T20 leagues like the Indian Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL).

Taking the investigations in IPL spot-fixing scandal forward, the Delhi Police’s Special Cell has examined more cricketers, including a left-arm bowler, who plays for Uttar Pradesh and is part of an IPL team from South India, in the last few days.

So far, Delhi Police has arrested three cricketers -- S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, and have made another cricketer Sidharth Trivedi a witness in the case.

The cops have also arrested a large number of bookies including Ashwini Aggarwal alias Tinku Mandi and Ramesh Vyas and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra was also questioned. Delhi Police had claimed that Kundra had bet during IPL matches.
Chennai Super Kings ‘Team Principal’ Gurunath Meiyappan, was also arrested for alleged involvement in betting before being granted bail.

In Bangladesh, Mohammad Ashraful confessed to indulging in corrupt practices during the BPL.

Meanwhile, the ICC is likely to deliberate on the venues for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Bangladesh.

The tournament is scheduled to be organised between March 16 and April 6 in Bangladesh.

The conference is also expected to see the Anil Kumle-led Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) raising the issue of member countries ignoring the ICC’s Future Tours Programme and sacrificing Tests to accommodate more ODIs or T20s.

The CEC is expected to discuss how best to maintain a balance between all three formats.