Sreesanth Arrested For IPL Spot-Fixing

Cricketer S Sreesanth was never a noob, as far as controversies are concerned. From taunting members of the opposing team with an impromptu jig-on-the-spot (remember India's 2006 Test tour to South Africa, and the whole Andre Nel fiasco?), to being slapped under the eye by Harbhajan Singh at the end of an IPL match (resulting in Sreesanth bawling and sobbing inconsolably during the match's presentation ceremony), the cricketer has always been one googly away from the inflammable stump of controversies.

But, the most recent one definitely takes the cake. And the icing. And probably the cherry on top as well. It has been reported that Sreesanth, along with two of his Rajasthan Royals team-mates, has been arrested by a special cell of the Delhi Police, on charges of spot-fixing in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

The team was in Mumbai for a match against the Mumbai Indians team, and had just lost by 14 runs (the troubles keep piling up, don't they?) to the hosts, at the Wankhede Stadium.

Immediately after the match, Sreesanth was picked up by the police from his friend's house in Mumbai, while the two other accused cricketers - Ajit
Chandila and Ankit Chavan - were arrested from the team hotel at Nariman Point.

Police sources also disclosed that the players had been under the scanner for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing other IPL matches, but they didn't elaborate on this allegation.

The police have also arrested 7 bookies in Mumbai and three bookies in Delhi, in connection with the same case. They are currently looking for two more bookies in Delhi.

The incident comes as a shock to the IPL authorities, who are also not novices in the field of controversies, having grappled with one or the other since the IPL's inception in 2008.

The Rajasthan Royals CEO Raghu Iyer was suitably stunned at the recent developments. "Rajasthan Royals has zero tolerance for corruption, and we will take action, if charges are proved," he said. He also released a statement outlining the stand of the team's management on the issue.

"We have been informed that three of our players have been called in for investigation on spot-fixing in matches. We are completely taken by surprise. We do not have the full facts at this point and are unable to confirm anything.

"We are in touch with the BCCI on this matter. We will fully cooperate with the authorities to ensure a thorough investigation. The management at Rajasthan Royals has a zero-tolerance approach to anything that is against the spirit of the game," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Sreesanth's mother, Savitri Devi, has been reported to have said that her son could "never" be involved in spot-fixing, and that it must be a conspiracy to get him down. The HRD minister Shashi Tharoor has also echoed her feelings of support for the temperamental paceman.

On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra has tweeted, "Just when IPL was going on so smoothly without controversies I woke up to the news of 3 RR players alleged spot fixing. Investigations r on."