IPL spot-fixing: BCCI to discuss fate of S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila today
The report submitted by Ravi Sawani, who investigated the spot-fixing allegations against Rajasthan Royals players, will be studied by the BCCI's Disciplinary Committee, which comprises Board vice-Presidents Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah.
The fate of the cricketers implicated in the IPL spot-fixing scandal would be up for discussion when the BCCI's disciplinary committee meets in New Delhi today to deliberate on Anti-Corruption Unit chief Ravi Sawani's report on the scam that shamed the Twenty20 league.
The one-man Sawani panel investigated allegations that the three Rajasthan Royals players conceded a pre-determined number of runs per over in exchange for money during the IPL this year. (Read: I just want to know if I can still play cricket, says Sreesanth)
Five Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan, Harmeet Singh and Siddharth Trivedi have been asked to attend the disciplinary committee meeting. However, it is unlikely that Chandila will attend the meet as he was granted bail just a few days ago. As per BCCI rules, a player needs to be give one-weeks notice to attend a disciplinary meeting.
The players, who have served jail time after being arrested by the Delhi Police, are Test pacer Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan.
All three of them played for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL but their contracts were terminated by the franchise after the scandal broke out. (Read: Sreesanth and Harbhajan say no to Bigg Boss: report)
Sawani's report will now be studied by the BCCI's Disciplinary Committee, which comprises Board vice-Presidents Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah.
Sawani, who heads the BCCI's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, handed over the report to the Board during its Working Committee meeting in Kolkata last month.
After examining the report, the Disciplinary Committee will present the findings at the BCCI annual general meeting to be held on September 29.
Sawani had earlier submitted an interim report, which was put on hold by the BCCI as he had not spoken to Chandila, who was in judicial custody till a few days ago.
Chandila, who was granted bail on August 6 for two days to perform the last rites of his deceased brother, has denied the charges but is yet to meet Sawani.
The other two implicated players have also maintained their innocence after coming out on bail.
The disciplinary committee originally had BCCI President N Srinivasan as well but he stepped aside after the arrest of his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan on charges of betting. Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila were arrested on May 16, along with eleven bookies, and were charged under the Indian Penal Code section 420 and 120B, which deal with fraud, cheating and criminal conspiracy.
The scandal led to an overhauling of the guidelines for players and owners in the IPL. The BCCI drew up an action plan called 'Operation Clean-up' which envisaged a series of measures to curb corruption in the IPL.
Cheerleaders were barred along with the after-match parties for players and support staff. It was also decided to restrict the movement of owners in the players dug-out and dressing room.