JOIN US'I'm not Commissioner of Police to keep vigil'
IPL management is responsible for the conduct of players on the ground, not with what happens in their personal rooms.
Indian Premier League (IPL), the mega-cricketing event launched with much fanfare in 2008 has been making headlines more for wrong reasons, then for the sport, once known as the game of gentlemen.
Currently, the ongoing fifth season of IPL has been mired in controversies since its beginning, starting with match fixing episode that rocked the tournament. Then came the ugly spat between Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shahrukh Khan and MCA officials. And not to forget the molestation charges against Royal Challengers Bangalore player Luke Pomersbach, followed by two Pune Warriors players -- Wayne Parnell and Rahul Sharma being held at a rave party in Mumbai.
The IPL muck echoed in Parliament with some leaders such as Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad demanding a ban on the tournament after the recent controversies.
Disagreeing with such a demand, IPL Commissioner and Congress leader Rajiv Shukla asserted that there is no need to ban IPL. Shukla, however, stressed that the management body will take action against those players, who are found guilty of wrongdoings by police.
In an interview with Khalid Akhter of Deccan Herald, when asked about the demand to ban IPL, Shukla retorted, “Why should it be banned? This is one world class product in the field of sports that India has given to the world. The whole world is appreciating it. Only a handful of people are demanding a ban on it. However, having said that, I would like to say that if police give adverse reports about players involved in the recent muck-raising incidents, we will take action against them.”
Shukla also took a dig at Lalu and said: “He is criticising IPL, his own son is part of it.”
Stressing that the IPL governing body is trying its best to organise a fair and clean tournament, which provides avenue to scores of young talent, Shukla said: “Those demanding a ban on IPL should know that it has provided an avenue to scores of players coming from all sorts of background, some from very humble moorings. This young talent would have been lost in anonymity had this tournament not been there.”
Asked about having a code of conduct for IPL players during the tournament to avoid such controversies, Shukla, who is also vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India said: “We already have a code of conduct for all the players, who are part of IPL tournament. However, IPL management is responsible for the conduct of players on the ground, not with what happens in their personal rooms. All these controversies have nothing to do with IPL tournament as such.”
“I am the IPL commissioner, not a police commissioner, to keep track of every IPL player off field as well,” Shukla quipped.
Asked about Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken demanding an expeditious probe by Finance Ministry involving Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department into the charges of black money playing a part in IPL, Shukla, who is also a minister in the Union government said, “BCCI is already probing it, let the Finance Ministry take a decision on it.”
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