BCCI, how about setting own house in order?

There is a clear distinction between match-fixing, spot-fixing, betting and ball tampering. Or take it this way — If match-fixing, spot-fixing are like crimes that invite capital punishment, then ball tampering can be likened to a theft or petty pick-pocketing.

Still not convinced?

Then deliberate on this argument. Match-fixing mostly is done to throw away matches. Spot-fixing or what many call ‘performance fixing’ is being done to under perform. Because no player can bet on scoring a century or taking five wickets. The best he could promise anyone is by throwing away his wicket at certain score or by bowling no-balls or wides or even by dropping catches.

That’s the nature of cricket. In any professional game, what Steven Smith and David Warner were conspiring was to win a game or to get one-up in such a crucial Test series. But what Chennai Super Kings’ manager and Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan were found to be involved in discussing inside strategy was certainly about making money than winning matches. This was akin to insider trading for rigging the stock market.

On a day when the BCCI has rightly denied the tainted  Australians entry to IPL, it must also realise that it is time to do some introspection and use Cricket Australia as an example of how to set the house in order.

The IPL 2013 spot-fixing scandal can inarguably be termed as the most shocking and disturbing incident, which shook the roots of cricket administration in India recently.

It brought out not just the irregularities in sport management but also unearthed corruption at the highest level. And considering that all this happened just a little more than a decade after 1999-2000 match-fixing scandal, there are bound to be questions asked from our own officials on what has been done to protect the game from cheats?

Be it the fixing scandal or now the ball-tampering incident, only players from other countries owned up their mistakes and agreed to be part of the investigation. None of India’s big cricketing stars have even acknowledged that corruption or spot-fixing happened. They have all claimed to be unaware of it.

The only ones condemned are names like Ajay Sharma, S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila or Ankit Chavan, who were only pawns in this high-stake game.

Time has certainly come to call spade a spade if cricket has to progress around the globe. If Smith and Warner are punished and deprived of their big earnings for the next one year, then there can’t be double standards. Especially, when findings of investigations into more serious allegations are still kept sealed in an envelope.

It is hardly a secret that an, an IPS officer, was on the verge of cracking the 2013 spot-fixing episode when he was asked to call it quits. Isn’t it time for BCCI to first go deep into its own problem?

The ever so active COA, hopefully, should also get excited with this idea.