Indian cricketer given life ban for spot fixing

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India has imposed a life ban on a non-capped player and also announced temporary bans on four others following a sting operation last month by a local television channel.
T.P. Sudhindra, who had been shown agreeing to and then bowling deliberate no-balls at pre-determined points in a local Twenty20 game by the India TV news channel, was handed a life ban yesterday.
“Sudhindra has been debarred for life, from playing any cricket matches conducted or authorized by the ICC or BCCI, or any affiliated unit of the BCCI,” the Indian board said in a statement. “He will not be entitled to the monthly gratis, benevolent fund, benefit match or any other facility. He cannot hold any position in any cricket association affiliated to the BCCI, for life.”
Shalabh Srivastava was given a five-year ban for agreeing to spot fixing in the Indian Premier League, even though he did not go on to do so.
Three others - Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali - received one-year bans for “loose talk and unsubstantiated bragging.”
All five players had been provisionally suspended on May 15 pending an investigation and their bans will run from that date.
The decision was announced by a three-member disciplinary committee headed by BCCI chief Narainswamy Srinivasan. The committee had been handed a detailed report by the ICC’s former head of its anti-corruption unit, Ravi Sawani, who investigated the allegations that came up during this year’s IPL.
The TV sting involved reporters posing as agents of a sports management firm offering players money to perform in a certain way at specific times in the match.
The channel showed Sudhindra, who plays for Deccan Chargers in the IPL, allegedly bowling a no-ball in a local T20 game in the central city of Indore in exchange for a payment of a little over $1,000.
Pictures captured by a hidden camera appeared to show Sudhindra agreeing to bowl a no-ball with his second delivery of the game. India TV then showed footage of the game in which Sudhindra bowled a no-ball by well over a foot at the pre-determined time.
Though the video does not show Sudhindra agreeing to spot fixing in the IPL, the channel did play out a telephone conversation with Srivastava of the Kings XI Punjab team agreeing to bowl a no-ball in the IPL. Srivastava, however, did not get to play in this year’s IPL.