IPL spot-fixing: Pawar says Sreesanth, others should be banned for life, if guilty

Former International Cricket Council (ICC) President Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that if fast bowler S.Sreesanth and two other cricketers playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are found guilty he should be banned for life from the game.

Pawar said: "The Indian Premier League has given immense opportunity to new talent to showcase their talent and get noticed. The IPL has also giving ample money to all the players and they should not indulge in such activities. BCCI should get tough in dealing with such incidents, so that players in the future do not commit such activities. They should be suspended. A panel should take this decision after the entire probe is completed and ban these players for life."

Former Indian wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani has called for severe punishment for cricketers who are involve in the fixing controversy.

Sending shock waves all over the Indian cricketing fraternity, Sreesanth has been arrested over charges of spot-fixing in the ongoing IPL tournament, along with two other players of the Rajasthan Royals franchise, of which he is also a part.

According to TV reports, Sreesanth, a veteran of 53 ODIs and 27 Tests, had been arrested in Mumbai along with cricketers Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan and seven bookies.

According to police sources quoted by the reports, the players have been accused of spot-fixing in different IPL matches, adding that they have been found out as a result of investigations on the matter in the big-money IPL.

The Rajasthan Royals franchise, which is co-owned by Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, has said in statement that, "We are completely taken by surprise... We will fully cooperate with the authorities to ensure a thorough investigation. The management at Rajasthan Royals has a zero-tolerance approach to anything that is against the spirit of the game.