Test bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two other players have been accused of spot-fixing in a Twenty20 tournament and have been suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“As of now, the 3 players … Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila and S Sreesanth stand suspended pending enquiry,” the BCCI said in a statement Thursday.
“… strictest action will be taken, if found guilty.”
The players, all from the same Rajasthan-based team in the Twenty20 league, were expected to face a Delhi court later on Thursday.
Sreesanth has the highest profile among the players detained by police, having played 27 Test matches and 53 limited-overs internationals for India.
Local media reported that seven bookmakers had also been taken into custody by Delhi Police, which is conducting the investigations.
Former International Cricket Council chief Sharad Pawar called for quick and strong action.
The domestic league “has given substantial financial support to players and this is unforgivable,” Pawar told reporters in Mumbai.
“The BCCI has to take strict action against the players, the suspension announced is the right kind of action but it should not stop there. There should be a thorough enquiry and if proven, they should be banned for life.”
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly called for a life ban on the players if the charges are proven.
“Nobody can prevent corruption other than players,” he told the CNN-IBN news channel.
“It’s about individuals and nobody can force you to bowl a no-ball or a wide. The players found guilty should be banned for life.”
Former India allrounder Kirti Azad, now a member of parliament, said there wasn’t enough deterrent, something that needed to be addressed.
“This had to happen and will happen again because enough action is not taken against such people,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
“Bans of a year or two will not help. People should get life bans, or else no one will be able to stop this menace. Cricket is considered a religion here (in India) but it is only bringing disrepute.”
There have been previous instances of spot-fixing cases in India.
Last year, little-known allrounder TP Sudhindra was handed a life-ban after he was shown in a sting operation by India TV news channel as agreeing to bowl a no-ball at a predetermined time in a local T20 game in the central Indian city of Indore.
Four others were handed bans of varying periods for either agreeing to spot-fix or illegally negotiating their domestic contracts.
Delhi Police were also involved in investigations into the match-fixing allegations of the late 1990s which led to the implication of former South Africa test captain Hansie Cronje.
Spot-fixing involves performing in a pre-determined way at set times for the benefit of gamblers.
