‘Will not take IPL position again’
Frustrated with the spot-fixing scandal and the series of controversies that have plagued the Indian Premier League, the event’s chairman Rajeev Shukla on Wednesday said he was not keen to take up the position again.
Shukla said his tenure was for a one-year period which is renewed every year and he was not willing to take up the high-profile post for a third consecutive term.
“IPL chief is a one-year post which gets renewed every year in the AGM but I don’t intend to do the job for a third year,” Shukla said here.
“I am not craving for any position in the BCCI, my job was to organise the matches and the matches were well organised. The stadiums were packed irrespective of the controversies,” he said.
“I have never hankered for any position. When the IPL chairman’s position was given to me, I took it up as a challenge and I did my job to the best of my ability,” he added.
Shukla said there had been a lot of discussion among board members over N. Srinivasan’s continuance as BCCI president.
“Discussions among BCCI members have already taken place and our immediate concern is to protect the image of BCCI and Indian cricket,” he said.
Shukla, who became IPL chairman last year, said the event was going on fine till the spot-fixing scandal broke out. “Misdeeds of a few players and certain people cannot bring bad name to hundreds of players who participated in the IPL with full honesty. The reputation of the IPL cannot be tarnished by a few greedy individuals.”
Asked what steps should be taken to restore the credibility of the tournament, Shukla said, “The anti-corruption wing must work in coordination with police agencies. Keeping an eye on bookies is the job of the police. The second suggestion which has been accepted already is that one ACSU official should be attached with each team throughout the tournament because he will be able to make out which is a rotten egg in the entire basket.
“The third suggestion is whoever is caught should be punished severely by the law of the land. And lastly, there should be a provision in the contract of the players if anyone is found indulging in corruption, he should be criminally prosecuted.”
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