India spot-fixing 'shameful' says Sports Minister
India's sports minister on Thursday branded as "shameful" the
spot-fixing scandal involving the arrest of three cricketers, including
Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, and 11 bookmakers.
Police last week arrested Sreesanth and teammates Ankeet Chavan and
Ajit Chandila from the Rajasthan Royals, accusing them of deliberately
bowling badly in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars.
"It is very shameful. As a young person, as a sports fan, as the
sports minister of the country, my head hangs in shame today," Sports
Minister Jitendra Singh told reporters.
"There should be some mechanism so that it doesn't happen again. And
it is not only about cricket. We are talking about cricket because of
this expose, but there are other sports as well," he said.
Singh said the government was considering drawing up a law to deal
with the issue of spot-fixing in sport, in the wake of the corruption
probe involving the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Singh said he
was consulting with other government ministers over the possible new
bill.
"We are in touch with the home ministry and the law ministry to work
out the law. We will consult the Attorney General before moving
forward," said Singh.
"It is necessary that there is a law or a deterrent. There is no
guarantee that this is not happening in other sports. Who knows it might
have started in other sports as well," he said. Spot-fixing is an
illegal activity where a specific part of a game, but not the outcome,
is fixed.
Sreesanth, who has played 27 Tests and 53 one-dayers for India, is
alleged to have been paid four million rupees ($72,000) to give away
around 14 runs in an over while playing against the Kings XI Punjab on
May 9.
His teammates are said to have agreed to similar deals in two other
IPL matches.
AFP |