Shiban Khaibri
Conscience is on sale both on the cricket ground and off the cricket ground, greed for much more money than required is brazenly explicit by some cricketers though otherwise earning in crores. The cricket sport is polluted and muddied and the victims are the innocent Indians who stand mercilessly cheated by some cricket players. These players can be called as not only cheats but hardened criminals. Merely by suspending these players for a few matches will only be a mockery, a joke and a trick played with the sentiments of the cricket fans of this country who manage to pay as high a price as somewhere between Rs.5000 to any high amount per ticket to watch the cricket matches in the circus of the IPL. As in every shoddy deal, half of the amount has allegedly been paid in advance with undertaking to pay the balance, in US Dollars. For this, some girls too were “used” who were arrested along with the tainted players after coming out of a Mumbai pub. As team of girls named as cheer leaders, are a part and parcel of the IPL bonanza on the playing ground, some are an important constituent of betting syndicate – off the ground. Congress leader and Chairman of the IPL Rajiv Shukla has come up with the oft heard statement that “investigations shall be made and guilty shall be punished, no form of corruption shall be tolerated.” Union sports Minister; Jatindra Singh has expressed similar views. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said, “this is very sad incident, I hope that the dirt does not get heaped but remain limited to this incident only.” Sunil Gavaskar has admitted that the players get fabulous quantum of money and despite that, some players choose a wrong way (to loot) which is shocking.”
Cricketers Sreesanth , Ankeet Chouhan, Ajit Chandila and nearly 12 bookies have been arrested by the police for spot fixing and cheating. Towel on trousers, body stretching, watch rotating, taking out shirts and warming up exercises etc; were a few signals given by these cheats to bookies to indulge in high gambling and betting of high order. It is shocking that the underworld links with the entire “tamasha” are suspected as the connections with some centers in the Middle East, Pakistan etc are believed to be well organized to ensure looting of Indians through the IPL matches. If the involvement of the underworld is suspected and the money meant to be paid to the tainted players coming through the Hawala channel arranged by “links abroad”, then there could be in operation,a wider betting syndicate with deep roots in India fraught with grave consequences in addition to damaging the economy in whatever magnitude. It is unfortunate that Hawala is expanding its tentacles in the country as recently it was revealed that the Hawala route was used for payment of bribe money in the Railways “cash for job” scandal. In the instant spot fixing case, not only have many investigating agencies like Police, NIA, Enforcement Directorate and even CBI to work in tandem to go deep into the malaise but have to ensure that such cheats are suitably punished. Such tainted players should not later get any political patronage for “boosting electoral prospects” of whatever political party by granting those party tickets to enter the country’s Parliament.
What has the BCCI to say in the matter beyond the same rhetoric as in the past when such things were reported to them? BCCI is considered to be the richest sports institution in the world bossed by the political heavy weights of this country who perhaps take the sadistic pleasure in seeing how the people are cheated and even fooled. This writer had in these very lines last month, critically appraised the very purpose of holding IPL matches and the fears expressed have been vindicated raising the basic question as to the rationale of the continuance of the IPL matches in India. The IPL has been indulging in less of serious cricket and more of money making, glamour eulogizing and glittering bonanzas of merry making, dines, wines and ostentatious shows. BCCI spends less of its energies in containing cheating in these matches; instead it is engrossed with earning money on a perpetual basis. Cricketer Rahul Dravid has said that he was deeply distressed and this was dangerous for the cricket game. But it does not exonerate him from failing in his responsibility in trying to smell a rat in his team and preempt the commissioning of the acts of disgrace, like the one under reference. It is revealed that even in IPL 5, such spot fixing has been done with impunity. BCCI should have long back emulated from South Africa as to how UCBSA took action against the veteran cricket player Hansie Cronje for allegations of suspected match fixing in the year 2000. He was banned for life from professional cricket. Why was not the problem contained firmly right at the Azhar- u-Din episode, or even at Salim Malik? On many occasions, allegations of various nature have been swept under the cover by the BCCI so that money minting process goes on unhindered.
In a developing country like India, where elections are won on cashing the poverty card, ie; alleviation of poverty, where right to not remain hungry is still not on the country’s statute, where still more than 67% of the people live below poverty line, royal game of cricket and now this IPL Tamasha is played for days, weeks and months together under one form or the other, almost for whole of the year, the players hardly getting time even to be with their families, only for the billions they earn from this cricket mine and to top it, some are trying to resort to illegal and immoral means to get richer and richer very fast in a country which has been spreading the message of ecstasy of contentment and honest and simple living to the mankind for thousands of years. It shall be in the fitness of things if those fans who must have spent money and energy and time on watching this circus and stand cheated must find legal recourse against the IPL authorities for refund of the money plus other charges as decided by the competent courts. The immediate step , a wise one shall be to stop these IPL matches forthwith. It is, however, a travesty that we have to confront with adulteration in politics, adulteration in cricket matches, adulteration in medicines, adulteration in most of the eatables, adulteration in most of actions and doings. Let us see when shall our ordeal lessen if not end permanently.
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