Philadelphia – The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been flying high, in only six years since its inauguration, and served a Midas touch to players, fans and investors alike. It also became a magnet for bookmakers, too. The game has always had a connection to gambling elements for a long period; however, the IPL has become a gambler’s paradise for betting much more quickly than other formats of the game.
Indian cricket fans felt shockwaves when players Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, and Ajit Chandila of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL were arrested in a spot-fixing scam. They are now suspended with their careers on hold, with the prospect of complete ruin. It is just the beginning of a scandal, which is growing every day. The management of the league, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is under tremendous pressure from the International Council of Cricket (ICC) to clean house, and from fans, to improve the sliding image of the game.
The game of cricket was always on the radar range of the world of bookmakers. Many talented players were enticed by the lure of easy money, which they could earn without any toil in the field, and ultimately ended up with tainted careers. There were players from Hershelle Gibbs, Marlon Samuels, Wasim Akram to Shane Warne, representing all cricket playing nations.
There were a few worst cases reported in various places. In the year 2000, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia and Nikhil Chopra (all from India) were linked in a match-fixing scandal and found guilty. Former captain Azharuddin was banned for life and other players faced varying degrees of punishment.
In the same year, the former captain of the South African team, Hansie Cronje, was caught in a similar scandal and he confessed about his link with international bookmakers and to taking bribes for match-fixing for many years. Cronje was at the peak of his career then, with enormous popularity among his countrymen, only second to Nelson Mandela. The nation of South Africa forgave him when he was banned for life from cricket, but people were shocked to see his rapid fall from grace.
Similarly, three Pakistani test cricketers were tried in Britain in 2011 and sentenced for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal. Former captain Salman Butt received a sentence of two and a half years, Mohammad Asif of one year, and Mohammad Amir of six months, respectively. This behavior was considered a blatant disregard for the code of conduct in the game.
It is not just cricket, there are many sports which are tainted with this malady. The Pete Rose story in American baseball is a glaring example. He had everything as a baseball player in his prime, with fame, fortune and the envy of many of his records, a couple of decades ago. Unfortunately, his addiction to sports betting became his downfall and prevented him from securing his berth in the shrine of the ‘Hall of Fame’ in baseball.
It is almost impossible for the IPL to clean the slate on the vice of betting, but it is imperative now to stem the rot before it destroys the growing enterprise. In the past six years, the IPL never felt any pressure to self-regulate from any participants, including fans, sponsors, teams, players and management (BCCI). The IPL has become a cash cow since its inception and no one wanted to milk it with any restrictions. Therefore, the IPL turned into a magnet for many elements, some undesirable and misfit, and these elements could be detrimental to the IPL’s long-term interests.
The BCCI is a responsible organization, and in passing the regulatory buck to the ownership arm of IPL teams, it has diluted the watchdog role. It is not difficult for the cash-rich BCCI to create such a body for oversight. The problem is not with carving stringent rules on paper, it is in the follow-up in case of abuse.
The BCCI could not project a squeaky clean image for the IPL, as it has not challenged many ethical violations which border on a criminal nature. Some players carry an undue influence, from their role in the IPL as a player, the receipt of large sponsorship contracts, and their cozy relationship with team owners, to a test level, where it could impede fairness in the selection process. Conflicts of interest have not been new to the BCCI since the beginning of the IPL. Many in elite management were never accountable in terms of running the big pot of money and no one has any idea how far their arms are in the cookie jar to empty it. It is a revolving door policy where no one asked to enter and no one checked while leaving. The IPL also exhibits a highly visible nexus of the BCCI, high-level politicians and Bollywood. Nothing is wrong if suspicion on clean-cut management is erased.
Sponsors hold the fuel card for the roaring IPL engine. They need a carrot and stick approach to this runaway train before it derails the dreams of everyone. The image of their companies is as significant as the BCCI.
The role of government remains blurry and undefined so far; however, its intervention in a crisis situation is vital and in the best interest of the public at large. Such a sports body needs a tax break, but never any blanket immunity from financial accountability and ethical responsibility. There must be a mandate on submission of full disclosure to the public annually through an independent audit agency approved by government. Such a check and balance approach won’t solve all problems, but will keep sports with a healthy look in the public eye.
It is dangerous living in the modern world in a collective manner when wealth is acquired without work, entertaining for pleasure without conscience, playing politics without principles, and doing business without social ethics. It has become of the utmost importance for the IPL and the BCCI to put the brakes on a runaway act for some moderation.
As for the fan, he is just a bogeyman on a gravy train still looking for ‘fun’ like the lady screaming, “Where’s the beef?” in Burger King commercials. Elites from the BCCI and the IPL are having a little smirk at the expense of their “poor” fan. It is just a matter of time before the fun-seeking fan will jump off the gravy train when he finds less than fun on the train!
IPL, be ready to answer the bogeyman one day.
Kirit Desai
Kirit Desai had post graduate degrees from India & USA both - in multiple disciplines. After spending almost 30 years in R & D (as Research Scientist) and research management at a prestigeous Ivy League University, moved into Financial field for past decade & enjoys reading/writing in international business, politics, sports and science/technology. He lives in Delaware valley near Philadelphia.