Shocked and saddened by the unfolding “spot-fixing” sage involving three Rajasthan Royals players, Kings XI Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist said that given the levels of awareness about the issue, there was no excuse for indulging in such illicit activity any longer.
Speaking shortly after the Kings XI had got the better of the Delhi Daredevils at the HPCA Stadium here on Thursday night, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman felt that if guilt was proven in the case of the three, “the harshest penalty from a cricketing point of view should be applied and that’s (being) banned for life, I believe.”
“Like everyone, I am very short on detail. I have only followed it through the press. I must prefix this by saying if at all it is true, it is very, very sad. It’s very disappointing,” a clearly-upset Gilchrist said.
“It’s one of the most disrespectful things that anyone could do as a fellow-cricketer. They are affording such disrespect to their peers by doing this. There is absolutely no excuse for this in this day and age.
“Talk of players being naive or not understanding of the ramifications is rubbish. Everyone is so well educated now. For my mind, any player found in any implications where they are proven (to) have handled illegal bookmakers’ bets or whatever, there is no place for them in the game whatsoever ever again.”
Among the three games involved in the scandal is the one between the Kings XI and the Royals at Mohali on May 9 where paceman S. Sreesanth is alleged to have bowled his second over in a two-over spell having “sold” the number of runs he would concede. Facing him that day was Gilchrist.
“It’s just frightening — this is the closest that I know of, if true, that I have ever come to it,” the perplexed Australian said, adding in a lighter vein, “I hope they don’t take those four runs off my tally from that Sreesanth over because I have scratched around all year, I value every run I have got this season. But it’s really sad. That’s what it is.”
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Chandila fixed in IPL-5 too?
Rajasthan Royals bowler Ajit Chandila might get into further trouble or it looks so as one of his interactions with the bookies reeks of his involvement in fixing in the previous IPL edition. Chandila had forgotten to give the signal during the match against Pune Warriors in his second over on May 5. He was to pull both his sleeves and look up to the skies and had to concede 14 or more runs. He failed to give any indication which made the bookies to ask Chandila to repay the amount ie., `20 lakhs.
The audio analysis done by the special cell has Ajit eluding to ‘did you have a problem last time’. The police say now that they are in custody, this angle will be probed too, a TV channel reported on Friday.