SC says Sreesanth conduct ‘not good’

The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned banned cricketer S Sreesanth for not immediately bringing it to the notice of BCCI that he was being approached for alleged spot-fixing during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match in 2013.

The apex court observed that conduct of Sreesanth, who is facing life ban for his alleged involvement in the sensational spot-fixing scandal, in the entire episode was “not good”.

Sreesanth, who was discharged by a trial court in 2015 in a criminal case related to alleged spot-fixing, told a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and K M Joseph that life ban imposed on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was harsh and there was no evidence to substantiate the claim that he has indulged in any illegality.

The 35-year-old cricketer has challenged in the apex court the decision of a division bench of the Kerala High Court which restored the ban imposed on him.

Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Sreesanth, said it was not established that any spot-fixing was done in the match played between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab at Mohali in May 2013 and there was no evidence that the cricketer had received any payment for doing this.

“Why didn’t you (Sreesanth) bring it immediately to the notice of the board (BCCI)?,” the bench asked Khurshid after he referred to recorded telephonic conversations between alleged bookies.

The senior counsel said Sreesanth had failed to inform the board about him being approached for spot-fixing but even if he did not do that, the maximum ban that could be imposed upon him was five years.

“All this indicates that conduct of S Sreesanth was not good. There is no doubt about this,” the bench said.