It can’t be a pleasant experience for BCCI president N. Srinivasan to be rudely yanked out of his holiday in Kodaikanal and confronted with a spot-fixing scandal that has sullied not only the name of the board but also the country.
Srinivasan expressed shock and outrage at S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan allegedly being on the pay-roll of bookies to fiddle with their performances in the IPL this year and has promised to take the sternest action against the wrongdoers. The outcome of the BCCI’s emergency meeting in Chennai today should tell us what this means.
Every lover of cricket — leave aside the highest office bearer of the sport’s federation — is dismayed at the turn of events. But Srinivasan must wonder whether the BCCI was not casual in ignoring signs from previous years — especially IPL-5 — that the threat was grave and growing. In 2012, five players were found discussing ways and means to fix matches in a sting operation done by a TV channel. None of them were caught red-handed and while all of them copped punishment (of varying tenures), the fact that the malaise could be far more widespread was perhaps ignored under the pretext that the BCCI had acted swiftly and decisively.
As recent events show, this was not quite the case. The manner and ease with which Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan could allegedly go about their nefarious ways suggests that there exists a sub-culture within the IPL which is insidious and potentially destructive.
It is spurious moralising, of course, to say that big money, parties and razzmatazz lead to corruption. That is poppycock. Grown-up men (Sreesanth and Chandila are 30, Chavan 27) are responsible for their own actions and if they succumb to greed, they must pay a price.
I firmly believe that this disease is restricted to a small minority of players; the vast majority plays fair and with honour. History bears out — in every walk of life and even more pertinently sports — that commercialisation carries within it seeds of corruption that must be countered robustly and on a continuous basis.
This is not to say that the BCCI did not put in systems to prevent corruption. As has been evidenced elsewhere, however, the Anti-Corruption Unit of the ICC (deployed by the IPL now) has had very limited success because it neither has the manpower resources nor the expertise to tackle corruption — especially spot-fixing — on a large canvas. But nuts and bolts administration apart, there is also the aspect of how the IPL is perceived. This is where the establishment takes a serious knocking because IPL officials it seems are more eager to gloat about its financial success, it’s TRP ratings and the glamour its attracts rather than worry about the threats to it from corruption which was always lurking on the horizon.
If players, umpires, coaches, administrators et al start believing that the IPL is a frivolity with loads of cash, then corruption starts taking root because unsavoury elements will be quick to pounce on the situation to exploit it. It is only a stroke of luck that the Delhi Police Special Cell — investigating some other cases — stumbled upon the spot-fixing scam. What has emerged is shocking, more so because one of the alleged culprits, Sreesanth, is not a marginal but an international player who almost made it back into the Indian team.
What’s even more alarming is that apart from the three players caught (and there could well be more), is that two of the conduits were also failed and/or frustrated first-class or club level players who have easy access to several others down the rank and file right across the country.
This imperils even domestic cricket, from which are drawn so many players for the IPL, most of whom may never graduate to the national team and may carry a sense of deprivation and disaffection which can lure them into corruption.
To hurl abuse at the IPL and demand its closure I think is ridiculous. The tournament provides a wonderful platform for players to exhibit their skills and fans to enjoy this. But it needs to be prevented from degenerating into institutionalised corruption because of complacency and arrogance.
The recent event is a massive dent to the IPL brand but also a great opportunity to cleanse the system and emerge stronger. This can happen with the people who run the league shift the focus to cricket, create an environment of transparency and probity, deliver an unambiguous zero-tolerance message and above all have a strong programme in place to mentor and educate young players to the pitfalls of instant fame and money
This should have happened before the League began. Any further delay would be ruinous.