Scandal Engulfs Indian Cricket; Web of Players, Bookies Faces Scrutiny
NEW DELHI: It wasn't a typical photo opportunity for Indian cricketer Shantha kumar and Sreesanth as he stood outside a New Delhi court in a pair of faded jeans and a dark blue full-sleeve tee-shirt.
Flanked by two policemen and his face covered with a black cloth, one of the most recognisable sportsmen in India kept his head bowed as newspaper photographers clicked away.
The slim, 30-year old, who can hurl the ball at speeds of up to 145 km per hour (90 mph) at opposing batsmen, was arrested ten days ago, police said, for receiving 4 million rupees ($71,000) from bookies for underperforming in a match in the multi-billion dollar Indian Premier League (IPL), the sport's richest tournament. He and two other players were provisionally charged with cheating, fraud and breach of trust.
In a statement to media through his lawyer, Sreesanth denied any wrongdoing and said he was confident he would be proven innocent "and my honour and dignity will be vindicated and restored". The two other players and 11 bookies, who are also in custody, have not commented on the allegations.
The Indian cricket board (BCCI), which runs the IPL, has set up its own inquiry into the scandal.
The BCCI and the IPL did not return calls from Reuters for comment on the case, but N. Srinivasan, the BCCI president, told reporters after the arrests: "Three players have allegedly indulged in something.
"We do not believe that the whole of IPL is wrong. Actually, we are very grateful to the public who filled the stadiums (even) after this news came out."
On Friday, Srinivasan's son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was also arrested by police probing illegal betting in the IPL. Meiyappan, who is among the management of one of the teams in the tournament, remains in custody and unreachable for comment.
His team is playing in the final of this year's IPL on Sunday.
"We've come to the conclusion that there is evidence of his involvement in this offence that we are investigating..." joint commissioner of Mumbai Police Himanshu Roy told reporters after the arrest.
Srinivasan, Meiyappan's father-in-law, told local television the law would take its course. "Whatever he has to defend, I'm sure he would defend adequately," he said.
