IPL corruption probe on sting allegations complete

Ravi Sawani, the head of the BCCI's new anti-corruption wing, has submitted his report on the allegations of corruption levelled against five domestic Indian players to board president N Srinivasan. The allegations, which allude to match-fixing and negotiating for extra illegal pay, emerged after a sting operation carried out by India TV and forced the Indian board to call for an immediate investigation on May 16. Sawani, who was appointed as the commissioner of inquiry by the BCCI, had been asked to submit his report in 15 days' time.

The report will now be studied by the BCCI disciplinary committee, which comprises Srinivasan, Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah (both BCCI vice-presidents). Sanjay Jagdale, the BCCI secretary, said that no date has yet been fixed for the disciplinary committee to meet.

The three-man panel, after studying the report, will decide on the final action to be taken against the players - Shalabh Srivastava, Mohnish Mishra, TP Sudhindra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali. The players, if found guilty, will be charged under the BCCI and IPL codes of conduct.

It is understood that Sawani, a former head of the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit, interviewed all the five accused in person. Sawani's interrogation was based on the information and evidence he gathered from sources.

The probe was ordered to investigate charges arising from the sting operation, including allegations of players agreeing to fix a match and being involved in match-fixing, players discussing IPL contracts outside the validity of their existing contracts with their respective franchises and whether the players' conduct brought disrepute to the game or the BCCI in any form.

India TV, in mid-May, had showed footage of a player bowling a big no-ball in a limited-overs match and played a recording of a phone conversation that it said was of a current IPL player negotiating a fee for bowling a no-ball. It also had at least three players on camera allegedly seeking more lucrative IPL deals - including extra money that would have violated their IPL contracts - with other league franchises through an undercover reporter posing as a sports agent.