The former Indian batsman and mentor of Kings XI Punjab, Virender Sehwag, has said that no level of security can prevent a player from fixing if he himself wants to indulge in this activity as he said,
“You can’t stop these things. No (amount of) security can stop (these things) if a player wants to do it. You can’t stop these things. It’s player’s responsibility to see who he is meeting. If my mind is clean, I can meet anyone. No matter how much security you keep in place, no one can do anything if a player wants to do something. If someone can prove a single thing against me I would say I would retire; now I say wipe off my records. If a player takes such responsibilities, these people will not be able to meet them.”
Sehwag’s comments have come after police arrested three people in Kanpur after the game between Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils, which the Delhi side won in the last over of the game. As per the report, Nayan Shah is the main suspect in the scenario and he even interfered in the pitch ahead of the game.
Now learning lessons from the 2013 fixing scandal, BCCI is taking every step to stop any kind of illegal activity in the league as the Board has already issued a statement regarding the matter which read as,
“The Anti Corruption Unit of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been tracking activities of certain individuals, as a result of which, three suspects were arrested.”
The reports have also added that there are few players who could have been part of the whole scene.
It was in the year 2013 when the league was rocked with fixing controversy when Delhi police arrested three cricketers on charges of fixing. They even came up with proofs, in which Delhi Police claimed that players used to send indications to bookies using sign language.
All the three players involved in the controversy were later banned by BCCI. The seriousness of the board regarding the matter can be understood by the fact that they haven’t revoked the ban from fast bowler S Sreesanth, even when he has been released from all the charges by Delhi court.
The Kerala pacer is making every possible effort of making a return but the apex board in the country has clearly informed that they won’t lift the ban on him.
Surely, the board has learnt lessons from all what has happened and is in no mood to take this matter lightly.
As of now, there has been no action taken on any player involved in that game as BCCI has denied the involvement of any player in this.
Gujarat Lions is slated to play their next game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on the same ground. The team though has already been ruled out of the tournament and is not in contention to qualify for the next round.