BCCI to investigate IPL allegations

Reuters: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will probe allegations of corruption in the lucrative Indian Premier League following allegations made by a local television channel.

Footage from India TV appeared to show an IPL player negotiating a fee for bowling a no-ball, while another said he received under-the-table payments above his contracted fee.

Each of the nine franchises has a salary cap and the player in question has not been capped by the national team, meaning he cannot be paid more than 3 million Indian rupeesaccording to IPL rules.

The BCCI said it would seek complete footage of the television channel’s sting operation before deciding if any action needed to be taken.

“Some television channels have been reporting a story pertaining to alleged unacceptable practices by players participating in the IPL,” BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.

“The BCCI will not tolerate any violation of regulations and any act of corruption.

“The complete footage of the ‘sting operation’ will be sought and examined thoroughly. The governing council will meet on an emergent basis to review the footage and take appropriate strict action.”

Last year, Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed in Britain for their role in a spot-fixing scandal relating to a test match against England at Lord’s in August 2010.

The spot-fixing scam, which shook the cricketing world, came to light after a British newspaper recorded sports agent Mazhar Majeed boasting of how he could arrange for players to rig games for money.

The International Cricket Council subsequently banned the three players for a minimum of five years.

“We are having a governing council meeting by conference call today. At which time we will go into this in detail,” BCCI President N. Srinivasan told Times Now channel.

“We will not tolerate any wrongdoing. At the same time we have to be certain as to what happened.

“As far as the IPL is concerned, the anti-corruption unit of the ICC is in charge. We believe the integrity of the game has been preserved.

“We had no inkling of anything at all. But we are very clear, we will act very swiftly and very strongly.”

A series of scandals has tarnished the image of the cash-rich IPL, which boasts a host of celebrity owners including India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, spirits and airline magnate Vijay Mallya and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.