Indian pacer S Sreesanth, who was accused of betting and spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) along with his Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammates Ankit Chavan and Ajith Chandila in 2013 and was lodged at the Tihar Jail, recently revealed that some of the other accused in spot-fixing saga are still part of the Indian cricket team and IPL.
In an interview with Republic TV, Sreesanth said: “There are many people who were named by the Delhi police in their report but are still playing international cricket.”
It was the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Disciplinary Committee headed by the present Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that slapped a life ban on Sreesanth after his name emerged in one of the biggest scandals in cricket.
According to a report published in Indian Express in 2014, the Mudgal Committee report has named about a dozen players belonging to 3 other teams apart from Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in IPL.
During the interview, Sreesanth further revealed:
BCCI requested the Supreme Court to not reveal the names of 13 cricketers because it will affect the India cricket.
Sreesanth also targeted Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players including MS Dhoni and claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has separate rules for him and he is being singled out in the match-fixing controversy.
Further, Sreesanth, who last played for India in a Test match against England at The Oval in August 2011, asked: “ Why teams like CSK and RR banned only for two years…Why weren’t players from CSK questioned?”
In 2013, former Indian captain MS Dhoni was leading the CSK side.
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In 2015, the now 34-year-old pacer and two other players were acquitted by a Delhi court in the case registered by Delhi Police.
On August 7, Kerala High Court subsequently lifted the life ban imposed on him.
The BCCI decided to appeal that verdict following which a division bench of the Kerala High Court reinstated the life ban on October 17.
On account of the life ban, Sreesanth can neither play league cricket nor get access to any of the cricket grounds for practice where the BCCI or the State Cricket Associations have a stake.
