Indian Premier League Controversy and Crisis
IPL, the Indian Premiere League, is the point where the local cricketers meet the international players. It is where cricket becomes an investment for the big corporates, where cricket is a league such as the European Premier League for football. As quoted by Harsha Bhogle, a cricket analyst for ESPN's Cricinfo:
"As a sporting event, the IPL has been excellent so far. It has provided a platform for young talent, for players who plied their trade in less-reported areas, and were a name on a scoreboard if the sports editor thought it worthy. [...] One of the most thrilling moments in recent times for me was watching Anil Kumble bowl the first over of a match to Virender Sehwag."
Now scandal has erupted, as charges have been brought to the IPL about the Kochi franchise, a potential new team for the 2011 season. They had, among other allegations, reportedly been offered $50 million to remove themselves from league franchise bidding.
IPL is now experiencing other controversies. League commissioner Lalit Modi is accused of a wide range of corruption allegations, including bribes and tax evasion among others.
According to local media, Modi may also have received an $80 million kickback during television broadcast rights negotiations. After these latest reported scandals, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh removed one of the Junior Foreign Ministers, Sashi Tharoor, from parliament to allow the Congress party to still keep their power. Tharoor reportedly had a female friend who was offered a free ownership stake in the Kochi franchise.
The shocking news spread through the Times of India, which claimed in a report that Modi has interests in three teams. Also, it is suggested that two matches were fixed in IPL's second season.
Modi was officially relieved from all of his IPL responsibilities today, and has been given 15 days to explain why “disciplinary action should not be taken against him.” If Modi’s reply is deemed convincing, all of the charges and proceedings against him will be dropped.
In another article, a top official in Delhi claims that "[t]hose involved in fixing matches are superstars of Indian cricket, and even an international player who is captain of one of the teams."These allegations have not brought great news for club cricket, but the International Cricket Council is said to take chances with such scandal in order to grow it's popularity.
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