Spot fixed, royally

Modi calls for legalisation of betting New Delhi (PTI): Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi on Thursday hit out at cricket administrators over the arrest of three cricketers, saying the ICC and BCCI have been "sleeping". "It's shocking that the ICC, BCCI have been sleeping. The administrators have been sleeping," Modi said. "ICC has to be an independent panel. We are at the tail end of the tournament and the ICC ACU, the BCCI and the IPL have not got a wind of this and we had to hear this from Delhi police," he added. "Everything is governed out of Chennai. We need to take the power centre away from one person ruling BCCI and ICC." He also advocated legalisation of betting.

D-link looms over spot-fixing Mumbai (Agencies): It is now firmly established that incidents like match-fixing and spot-fixing have been operated with the blessings of the underworld. News channels have been airing reports about the involvement of Dawood Ibrahim in various such corrupt practices, including the latest that has hit the cricketing world. Police officials have confirmed that almost 30 calls were made through Pakistan. Around dozen matches of the ongoing sixth edition of IPL have come under the scanner, including three featuring Rajasthan Royals, for alleged spot-fixing. A couple of bookies of the total seven arrested from Mumbai are allegedly linked to Dawood, who is described as a veteran in cricket betting and match fixing. According to the suspected modus operandi, the bookies spot the "vulnerable" players who could be easily contacted. But only three players came into their net. There is a "distinct possibility" that the cricketers will also be booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), which deals with combating organized crime and terrorism.The first incident of spot-fixing, he said, was discovered in the May 5 match between Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals. This was followed by the May 9 match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals and the May 15 match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. The police also sought custody for unearthing the entire conspiracy and to know the who are the other people or players involved in the fixing. Noting they have 100 hours of audio clippings as evidence, top officials said that there was evidence that spot-fixing was happening in other teams as well. In addition to video clippings of the given-away runs, the transcripts of the conversations between the players and the bookies are also in police custody. The 14 arrested, including bookies with close links to D Company, have been sent to police custody till May 21.

We will come over the shock: Dravid Hyderabad: The arrest of three of its players, including a veteran of 27 Tests, on charges of spot-fixing sits heavily on the minds of the management of Rajasthan Royals. Not surprisingly, although they have a crucial match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, the players stayed put in their hotel rooms for all of Thursday. They also avoided media when they turned up for one final practice session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. In fact, the area was heavily cordoned off by security personnel. It is reportedly learnt that all through the day the franchise owners held talks with skipper Rahul Dravid and coach Paddy Upton over the possible fall-out of the exposure and the suspension of the trio from all future engagements of the sixth edition. Later in the evening, Dravid read out a written statement to the media, which was aimed at putting the record straight. "We must all have zero-tolerance to match-fixing and corruption. Should these allegations be proven, we will support the strongest of actions. We are extending complete support to the investigative agencies and will continue to do so," was the official statement. Meanwhile, Dravid said that he was shocked, disappointed and distressed by the turn of events. 'Rajasthan Royals is a special team, where we have always operated like a family�so this is particularly devastating,' he said.A However, he was quick to point out that they would focus on Friday's game against Hyderabad.

Nothing can dent cricket: Srinivasan Mumbai (PTI): The spot-fix scandal that rocked the ongoing Indian Premier League following the arrest of pacer S Sreesanth and two other Rajasthan Royals players has come as "a bolt from the blue", BCCI president N Srinivasan said on Thursday. "I don't know about others, but I was shocked. It was a bolt from the blue. The BCCI is shocked that this has happened because we never expected this," the Board chief told reporters here from Kodaikanal via a video conference. Srinivasan brushed aside criticism in some quarters that the cash-rich IPL was primed for such a scandal and said "I don't subscribe to the view that it's not surprising". The Board chief assured the cricket fans that the "strictest possible action" would be taken against the trio who have been charged with spot-fixing by the Delhi police - if they are found guilty. "We will do whatever is necessary. The sport is clean and we are running it clean. We have taken all the steps (to keep it clean). One or two bad eggs here and there cannot sully the entire game," he said.