Indian board bans five players for corruption

Five uncapped Indian cricketers were provisionally suspended last month following allegations of corruption. PHOTO: FILE

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) banned one uncapped cricketer for life on Saturday and handed out lesser punishments to four others for involvement in corruption in domestic cricket.

The five uncapped Indian cricketers were provisionally suspended last month following allegations of corruption, made by a local television channel.

Footage from India TV appeared to show one cricketer negotiating a fee for bowling a no-ball, while another said he received under-the-table payments above his contracted fee.

A three-member disciplinary committee decided to ban fast bowler TP Sudhindra from all cricketing activities for life after reading a report and hearing the cricketers’ defence.

“The committee held Sudhindra guilty of actually receiving a consideration to spot-fix in a domestic cricket match, and hence imposed exemplary penalty on him,” a BCCI statement said.

Paceman Shalabh Srivastava, who played in the IPL for the Punjab franchise, was banned for five years.

“Shalabh Srivastava was held guilty of agreeing to fix a match and negotiate terms for the same, even though no actual match-fixing or spot fixing took place,” the statement said.

Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali were each handed one-year bans.

“The three players, through loose talk and unsubstantiated bragging, brought the game into disrepute, and hence, have been held guilty of the lesser offence,” the BCCI added.

Last year, Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed in Britain for their role in a spot-fixing scandal relating to a test match against England at Lord’s in August 2010.

The International Cricket Council subsequently banned the three players for a minimum of five years.