Almost ten years ago, Indian cricket was rattled by a far-reaching Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal. It was on May 16 that Delhi police arrested three Rajasthan Royals players for spot-fixing in a Mumbai match. The three players were S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan, who were quickly suspended following the allegations and later banned for life. The incident sparked a nationwide hunt for bookmakers, and soon, the police were rifling through the IPL on the highest levels to go to the bottom of spot-fixing in IPL. The debacle led to the arrest of several bookies, a top official of Chennai Super Kings, and the son-in-law of former BCCI president N Srinivasan. In total, 39 people were formally accused, while Sreesanth and Chavan received lifetime bans after being found guilty of rigging matches.
Differences and Similarities of Match-Fixing in Indian Premier League
Spot-fixing is similar to match-fixing, when one or several players collude and take actions to impact the result of a specific game. Spot-fixing differs in that it’s about the difference in points between the two teams playing to impact the margin of victory between the winning and losing sides. Spot-fixing in IPL can be that players deliberately bowl no-balls at specific points during the game. This information is then leveraged by players and those they collude with to place wagers online with Indian bookmakers, who unknowingly accept the wagers. Fixing matches and placing wagers on them using inside information is a way to defraud bookmakers. Rigger Indian cricket games also damage the integrity of the league and its sports associations, putting them at risk of losing sponsors. Additionally, as the players in the 2013 scandal later discovered, it can destroy careers, leaving the remaining players stigmatised.
Match fixing is not unique to the IPL. It’s a prevalent problem on all levels of professional sports worldwide. In 2021, it was estimated that 1483 Indian crores were generated in fixed games betting profits globally. Sports leagues often collaborate with bookmakers and sports organisations to monitor online activity to discover patterns that can help uncover fixed matches.
Legends League Bring the IPL Spot-Fixing Scandal Back in Focus
On December 6 this month, in the match between India Capitals and Gujarat Giants during the Legends League Cricket Eliminator, a verbal exchange broke out between former Indian cricketers Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth. The latter was the same S Sreesanth of the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal. The two players got into it after Gambhir hit a six and a four against Sreesanth during the second over. The incident was a significant part of the match and carried over post-game when Sreesanth took to social media. In a video, he addressed the incidents, stating that, among other things, Gambhir had repeatedly called him a “fixer”. He then commented on Gambhir’s Instagram, calling him “an arrogant and utterly classless individual.” Sreesanth was upset because the court had later dropped all the charges in 2015, freeing him of charges and suspicion. In March 2019, his lifetime ban was reduced to only seven years.
Following the on-field Legends League incident, the league’s code of conduct & ethics committee will carry out an internal investigation, promising that any evidence of misconduct will be dealt with strictly by the Supreme Court.
