MUMBAI, June 12:
The enquiry report of the TV sting operation conducted during IPL season five has been received by the BCCI and it will be referred to the Board’s disciplinary panel, IPL chief Rajiv Shukla said here today.
“Ravi Sawani, the enquiry commissioner, has submitted his report on TV sting operation to the BCCI president (N Srinivasan). As per the procedure, that report is being referred to the disciplinary committee of the BCCI. It will consider the recommendations of Ravi Sawani,” Shukla said after the IPL’s governing council meeting here today.
Five uncapped Indian cricketers were alleged to have been caught indulging in corrupt practices by a television channel which conducted a sting operation during this year’s IPL.
The BCCI, while suspending the concerned players, had also asked its Anti-Corruption Unit chief Sawani to conduct a probe in the matter.
Sawani has completed the probe and submitted his report to Board president Srinivasan.
“Now that the President has received the report, he will be referring it to the disciplinary committee,” he added.
The three-member disciplinary panel comprises Srinivasan and two BCCI vice-presidents Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah.
Meanwhile, Shukla was upbeat about the “huge success of IPL V” that ended on May 27 with Kolkata Knight Riders becoming the new champions after defeating last year’s winners Chennai Super Kings in the final at the latter’s backyard.
He claimed that IPL V was viewed by more people than last year’s ICC Cricket World Cup that ended with India lifting the coveted 5O-over trophy after 28 years.
“IPL V was a huge success. The figures we have got say that nearly 2.55 billion viewers have seen IPL V. It’s more than those who watched ICC World Cup (2011). This figure is very near to world’s top 1 or 2 tournaments which includes the FIFA World Cup. I am talking only about the Indian viewership. There was also a jump of 55 per cent in internet viewership,” he said.
According to Shukla, the four play-off games of IPL V had fetched Rs 13 crore only from the sale of tickets.
“The ticket sales from the four play-off matches have fetched over Rs 13 crore out of which we are paying Rs 2.80 crore as entertainment tax to the government. All the franchises have received substantially more money from the sale of tickets this season. The (complimentary) pass culture is slowly ending in IPL. More than 50 per cent tickets were sold online,” said the IPL chairman.
Shukla informed that today’s governing body meeting took stock of the tournament and all the members were appreciative of the huge success of the event, adding what happened behind closed-doors in hotel rooms were not the concerns of the governing body.
He was obviously referring to the incident involving one of IPL players, Australia’s Luke Pomerschbach, who was accused of molesting an American woman and beating up her fiance after a post-match party in Delhi before the accuser withdrew the complaint after reaching an agreement with the player.
“Basically, it was a review meeting of IPL V, how it has done extremely well. The GC members appreciated the kind of effort put in for the success of IPL V.
“There were no controversies as far as cricket, grounds and matches were concerned. What happens inside hotel rooms are a matter for the police to handle,” Shukla said.
Shukla said there was no discussion about inclusion of Pakistan players in future IPL editions, adding that Sialkot will take part in this year’s CLT20 Champions League, the venue of which will be decided on June 25 in Malaysia. (PTI)
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