Stunned by the arrest of three cricketers in the spot-fixing scandal that has shaken the IPl, BCCI President N Srinivasan on Thursday said a few "bad eggs" would not be allowed to sully the game and the punishment handed down to them would be "sufficient deterrent" for others.
"I don't know about others but I am shocked, the BCCI never expected it. It was a bolt from the blue. We will see whatever is there to be done is done. The sport is clean, we are running it clean and one or two bad eggs cannot sully the game," Srinivasan told reporters from Kodaikanal in a video conference here.
"We have to examine and see what we can do and what steps we can take to demonstrate that such kind of work does not pay," he said.
A special cell of the Delhi police arrested well-known pacer S Sreesanth and his teammates — Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan — along with seven bookies last night after their team, Rajasthan Royals, IPl match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
The cricketers and bookies have been charged under sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and are being flown in to Delhi for further questioning.
The BCCI chief rejected the argument that players indulging in corrupt practices were perhaps underpaid, saying, "I don't think it is a case of players not having enough money. You can call it greed, not a question of inadequate compensation."
"We thought when we made an example last year (by banning five domestic cricketers involved in spot-fixing), we thought the message was clear and people would not do anything like this. But we will continue with our efforts. The action that we take against these players would be sufficient deterrent," he added.
Even though he promised tough action against guilty players, Srinivasan said the BCCI cannot be expected to keep track of all the bookies. "We have an anti-corruption code and an anti-doping code...Here the people involved are the ones who are Ranji players and one of them is a Test player and that is what is shocking," Srinivasan said. "As far as these cricketers are concerned and keeping in mind that natural justice has to be preserved, we will take action as per our rules after giving them a chance to explain. I hope nobody else is involved but if information comes to BCCI, we will of course act immediately.”
"The BCCI has recently set up its own anti-corruption unit but the police say there is a huge network of bookies, it is difficult to police the entire country. When such instances come up, the police have taken action."
Srinivasan said to see Sreesanth involved in the scandal was particularly disheartening. The BCCI chief, however, ruled out stopping the IPl because of this scandal. "I am also equally sad as all my colleagues that the name of a player who played Test cricket has figured but that doesn't mean that the entire game is corrupt. I do not think IPl should stop," he said.