'Angered' Harris calls for ban on 'crooked' spot-fixing players for turning cricket into 'joke'

Australian paceman Ryan Harris has said that cricketers found to be indulging in spot fixing should be banned for life and wiped from record books for turning the game into a 'joke'.

Rajasthan Royals trio S.Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested for alleged spot fixing in 2013 Indian Premier League fixtures, News.com.au reports.

Wanting the maximum punishment for a player found to have sullied the fabric of the game, Harris said that such players should be banned for life and all their traces should be completely wiped out from all records of the game as they are turning a well-loved game into a joke.

Disturbed that his Kings XI Punjabs franchise had been allegedly exposed to spot fixing in a May 9 fixture against the Royals in Mohali, Harris called such cricketers are crooked and said that it makes him sick to see that even after a high wage, such cricketers are still greedy for more money.

Harris, who will resume bowling after returning four weeks ago from the IPL with an Achilles injury, was also angered by the linking of his former South Australian teammate Shaun Tait, who was falsely linked to the scandal on social media purely through his presence on the Royals roster.

The report further said that 11 bookies have been charged by Delhi police while 27-Test Indian speedster Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila have been interrogated for five days by Delhi police and suspended by the Royals.

More players are expected to be charged by officials in a scandal that has rocked an IPL now tainted by links to the underworld, the report added.