IPL now hit by match-fixing, betting allegations; several star players under IT scanner

The Indian Premier League (IPL) matches you have been keenly following for most of the past two months have been fixed, according to an income tax (I-T) report. Worse still, by none other than your cricketing idols. Shockingly, those involved in fixing the matches are superstars of Indian cricket and even an international player, who is a captain of one of the teams, according to a top official in Delhi who is part of the I-T team investigating the alleged IPL scam. Some team owners too are allegedly involved. Serious allegations that matches were fixed during the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) add to concerns that Indian cricket is skidding towards an apocalypse now. According to sources 27 cricketers are being investigated for match-fixing during IPL2. In a report submitted to the Finance Ministry, income tax officials discuss allegations of betting involving IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi. However, the Big Three of Indian cricket -- Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid -- are clean and above this muck, the I-T investigator revealed. The owners of different IPL teams have expressed their unhappiness with reports of match-fixing; they want clarifications as soon as possible. The IPL, earlier celebrated as an infusion of cricket, fans, and Bollywood has been passing through its darkest hour, ever since IPL Chairman unloaded on twitter revelations that forced Shashi Tharoor to resign as minister, Put Modi's own job on the line, and forced Parliament to confront the very real possibility of senior politicians holding dangerously vested interest in a sport that is bursting at the seams with crores (the Indian cricket board is the richest in the world). The government has ordered a wide inquiry involving the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate. Among the charges are foreign exchange violations, tax evasions, proxy ownership of different teams, and sweet deals for relatives and friends of politicians and cricket organizers and administrators. Some seniors have allegedly been influencing juniors, often from their own regions, to fix matches. Probably for the first time in cricketing history, senior and junior cricketers playing in rival teams jointly fixed the outcome of matches, the official said. A clear pattern has supposedly emerged where a particular bowler has bowled easy deliveries and dropped catches, while his 'partner in crime' went on a scoring spree. Investigating teams from I-T and the Enforcement Directorate are analysing phone records of some of the franchises after match-fixing speculations. Investigators are checking the phone records of several personalities who had access to VIP enclosures during IPL matches.

Share

Blogger Widgets