IPL probe: Six capped players under scrutiny, says report

Six prominent “Indian capped” players, including one who is part of the current team, are likely to face the heat for their alleged roles in fixing scandal with their names cropping up in the report filed on Monday before the Supreme Court by a committee probing the IPL betting and spot-fixing scam.

In its report, the three-member committee headed by former Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal, said that former BCCI president I.S. Bindra had also stated that he knew two former reputed Indian players who were allegedly involved in match fixing.

However, names of the players, whose roles are being probed, have been given to the apex court in a sealed cover.

The report said that a journalist, who was apparently connected with recording of tapes for a sports magazine, could identify the voice of the Indian player and he had also stated that the player was part of the team which played the world cup and a member of the team now.

“The journalist refused to disclose the names of the Indian players involved. In spite of repeated requests to put the name of the said player in a sealed cover for perusal before the Supreme Court, the journalist appeared terrified and was very reluctant to do so and pleaded that it would be dangerous for the journalist concerned,” it said.

“It thus appears that names of six prominent Indian capped players are available in tapes in connection with dealings with bookies while two of these prominent Indian capped players have also been named by none other than a former President of BCCI,” the report said.

The report, filed before a bench headed by Justices A.K. Patnaik, also referred to the transcripts of the tapped conversation between two alleged bookies, Chandresh Jain and Ashwani Aggarwal, in which there are “references to high level fixing of players where the names of two international Indian players were mentioned.”