India TV spot-fixing sting operation: Corruption, black money haunt IPL

New Delhi: The dark shadow of corruption is back to haunt cricket. This time, there are allegations even of black money in the Indian Premier League (IPL). A sting operation by a national TV channel India TV claims to have uncovered the lid on spot-fixing, and also black money deals in the IPL.

The Board of Control of cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that it will examine the footage of the sting operation and won't tolerate corruption.

In its official press release, the BCCI announced that the entire footage of the 'sting operation' will be sought and examined thoroughly. The IPL Governing Council will also meet on an emergency basis to review the footage and take an appropriate action.

The BCCI said that if it found any truth in the sting operation, it may even suspend the players if required.

The BCCI said that it has asked the Governing Council of the IPL for a tele-conferencing of the governing council to go into this matter. "We will act to show that this is not tolerated," the BCCI said.

The BCCI said that it would not tolerate any violation of regulations and any act of corruption.

BCCI chief N Srinivasan has said, "We will have to see the tapes. If there is any truth in it, we will act, even if it means suspending the player immediately. But this has to based on some evidence and fact. We will act to show this is not tolerated. IPL, we believe is clean. But if there is a shred of evidence, we will take the strictest possible action."

"We will ensure that the integrity of the game is protected. BCCI believes in the integrity of the game. We will take the strictest possible action. We will have to have the tapes and the moment we see it, whoever is the player, we will take very very strict action."

"IPL, we believe is clean. We have got the Anti-Corruption Unit covering it. They are the in-charge of the security. We have got Ravi Swami, who was heading BCCI's Anti-Corruption Unit to take it up for us."

"People can make allegations. But if there is any shred of evidence, we will take action.

The sting operation alleges murky deals in the IPL and suggests that many players have confessed to under the table transactions. The sting operation also alleges involvement of Indian cricket stars, international players and even team owners. The TV channel reports of match fixing as well.

The channel claimed that an IPL player confessed that he was getting Rs.1.45 crore from its owner whereas he was in the Rs 30 lakh slab. It named an IPL player, claiming he had bowled a no-ball in last year's first class match on the insistence of the channel's reporter. He had also assured to change his team in future if he was paid Rs.60 lakh, the channel said.

Another player demanded Rs 10 lakh for bowling a no-ball in an IPL match, it said.

The channel said a pattern has emerged where a particular bowler pitches easy deliveries and there are dropped catches.

(With additional information from PTI)

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