Kirti Azad accuses BCCI of not doing enough to curb 'spot fixing'

Asserting that spot fixing is a problem that has plagued the Indian Premier League (IPL), former India cricketer and BJP MP Kirti Azad on Thursday accused the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of not doing enough to curb it.

When five players were accused of spot fixing during last year's IPL, Azad said he had told the BCCI to transfer the case to the police instead of probing the matter themselves.

"I had suggested that you shouldn't take it on yourself and it should have been taken to police," Azad said.

Azad further claimed a lot of the match fixing which took place was done by individuals from Delhi.

"You will find in 90 percent of cases it is taken up by Delhi police...Much of the fixers are from Delhi," Azad said, adding that as per his information the scale of fixing was so large that in May the ICC had met with the Delhi Cricket Board to bar a person from attending matches.

He further said that a life ban is needed on such players.

"This will be happen again until and unless strong measure has been taken. A life ban is needed on such players," he added.

Sending shock waves all over the Indian cricketing fraternity, Indian pacer S.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.