Headlines
Rajasthan Royals player approached for fixing
New Delhi, April 10
A Rajasthan Royals
cricketer was approached a month ago for fixing 2015 Indian Premier
League (IPL) matches, the team said on Friday.
The Royals
reaction comes in after the Indian Express reported on Friday that the
Mumbai-based Royals player was approached by his Ranji Trophy teammate
"with an offer of money if he followed a pre-decided pattern of play".
The
player refused the offer and informed his team management, who in turn
reported the matter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India's
(BCCI) Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).
"Over a month
ago, a player from Rajasthan Royals was approached inappropriately by a
player (who was not part of the IPL) in connection with the IPL 2015
matches. Maintaining high standards of integrity, the player informed
the team management of this inappropriate approach," said Royals chief
executive officer (CEO) Raghu Iyer.
"In keeping with applicable
IPL regulations, Rajasthan Royals management immediately reported the
incident to the ACSU of the BCCI."
Iyer praised the unnamed
player for reporting the incident: "Rajasthan Royals commends the player
for having reported this incident immediately and for his honesty and
uprightness. His dedication to maintain the highest standards of
integrity needs to be lauded."
The CEO added that the team will totally cooperate with the ACSU in further investigations.
"Rajasthan
Royals in keeping with its zero tolerance approach immediately reported
the incident further to the ACSU/BCCI for further process. Rajasthan
Royals will continue to provide full support and assistance to the BCCI
to ensure that the game of cricket is played in the right spirit," said
Iyer.
"This incident does highlight that if players and other
officials cooperate and disclose information or approaches immediately,
the game can be kept clean and free from undesirable elements and
activities."
The incident is reminiscent of the IPL spot-fixing
and betting scandal which involved the Royals. In the 2013 edition of
the Twenty20 tournament, Delhi Police arrested three cricketers -- S.
Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan -- on charges of spot-fixing.
Sreesanth and Chavan were banned for life by the BCCI following investigations while Chandila's case is still pending.
Later
in a separate case, Mumbai police arrested former Chennai Super Kings
team official Gurunath Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of the then BCCI
president and current ICC chairman N. Srinivasan, for betting.
Meiyappan and Royals co-owner Raj Kundra were found guilty of betting by the Supreme Court.
The Royals play their first IPL match of the 2015 season against Kings XI Punjab on Friday in Pune.