New Delhi:
Even before the start of their season in IPL, the 'fixing ghosts' are here to haunt Rajasthan Royals. If reports are to be believed, a Rajasthan Royals player has claimed that he was approached by a Ranji player to fix Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. The Royals informed the anti-corruption team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about the offer, according to reports.
The Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU) took up the matter and during questioning, the RR player revealed that his Mumbai-based Ranji team-mate offered him money to follow a pre-decided pattern of play, a leading daily reported. The 2008 champions of the cash-rich league will play their first game of the season Friday against Kings XI Punjab in Pune.
Earlier in 2013, a spot-fixing scandal rocked the team which led to the arrests of three RR cricketers, including former Test player S Sreesanth. Then, it was Amit Singh, a former RR player, who had acted as a middle man between bookies and players, as also Jiju Janardhanan, a close friend of Sreesanth.
Former India captain and Royals' mentor Rahul Dravid had called for exemplary punishment to tackle fixing and request players to be extra vigilant to avoid the infamous spot-fixing episode which curtailed the career of S Sreesanth. As a fall-out, the Supreme Court ordered N Srinivasan to step down as BCCI president.