S. Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila were suspended from all cricket following enquiry by the BCCI on 16th May this year. Till now I am sure that they must have had some hope that their cricket careers might be reinstated but it looks like that such optimism may be dashed sooner than what they may have hoped. The reason behind such a statement is that there is a good chance that they may be barred from participating in any game that is sanctioned by the BCCI and this ban could be effective for a significant period. This could basically make sure that they never play the game at the highest level ever again.
They were arrested by a special cell of Delhi Police after allegations of corruption and match fixing were levelled against them. The arrest took place on 15th May during the match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Chavan and Sreesanth were let go on bail soon after. The two cricketers along with Harmeet Singh and Siddharth Trivedi who also turned out for the Rajasthan Royals will be appearing at New Delhi on 13th September before the disciplinary committee of the BCCI. Also at the meeting shall be Amit Singh who has played for the Royals before and is registered with the Gujarat Cricket Association. The BCCI suspended him too on 17th May following the discovery that he was involved in the whole affair.
As per reports BCCI were not informed either by Harmeet or Siddharth that they had been approached by bookies and this could be a decisive factor against them in my humble opinion. Ajit Chandila, another player who represented the Royals in this year’s IPL, was arrested by the police as well and then allowed to leave on bail. Ravi Sawani, the head of the anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU) of the BCCI, had done the enquiry into the allegations after the working committee decided to do so at a meeting in Chennai. He has also submitted his report.
The disciplinary committee of the BCCI is made up of N Srinivasan, the President, and Niranjan Shah and Arun Jaitley, the Vice Presidents. It is expected that the Vice Presidents will probably have a meeting with Sawani before they meet the cricketers in question. The cricketers have been accused of offence that are mentioned in the Anti Corruption Code Article 2 and the report is expected to determine whether the 5 indicted in the case are guilty or not.
I don’t know if the cricketers would be pronounced guilty or not or what will be the extent of the punishments that they receive but one thing is for certain – they made the biggest mistake of their lives by associating with the wrong people for a truckload of cash and in quick time. They were wrong in thinking that they will never get caught – well, it is often said that no one in this world is innocent and our choices make us who we are. These players could have had a good career and they may have made more money that way and earned more glory but they decided otherwise. It is only right that if proven guilty they receive exemplary punishment so that it bars others from going down the same route in the future.
