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 team-mates 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 team-mates are said to have agreed to similar deals in two other IPL matches.
The Indian cricket authorities recently said they would launch their own probe into the allegations, promising strict action against the players if they are found guilty. The trio were refused bail on Tuesday after they appeared in court in New Delhi on spot-fixing charges. The scandal widened on Tuesday when police in Mumbai arrested Bollywood actor Vindu Dara Singh Randhawa as part of the investigation which has caused outrage among fans in the cricket-mad nation. His family denied the actor was involved in the scandal.
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