The weightiest voice in world cricket has finally broken its silence on the spot-fixing scandal that broke out around the Indian Premier League in mid-May.
Sachin Tendulkar on Friday said that the developments of the last two weeks had been “shocking and disappointing”, referring to the arrests of cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, for spot-fixing, and that of Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan for betting on the tournament.
Tendulkar said the faith reposed by the millions of fans in the game needed to be justified, while asking the authorities to take “sincere steps” to get to the root of the issue and ensure that credibility of the game was restored.
With calls growing for the country’s cricketing legends to come forward on the issue — Rahul Dravid being a lone exception in the matter so far — Tendulkar and recently-retired Test team mate V.V.S. Laxman made their distress at the developments clear.
In a statement on the day, Tendulkar, who quit the IPL after his team, the Mumbai Indians, won their maiden title in the final in Kolkata on Sunday, said that as a cricketer he had learnt to play in the true spirit of the game. “It has always hurt me when the game of cricket is in the news for the wrong reasons. The developments in the last two weeks have been shocking and disappointing. As cricketers we are always taught to go out, fight hard, give our very best and play in the true spirit of the game,” Tendulkar said.
The record holder with the bat in practically every form of the game underlined the importance of getting to the root of the problem.
“During this difficult phase, I join every cricketer, from the boys in the maidans across the country to those who represent clubs, states and the country, who trust the authorities to take sincere steps to get to the root of the issue.
“The faith reposed by the millions of fans should be justified and we owe it to them to ensure that Indian cricket is all about pride and joy,” the statement added.
For his part, Laxman said the issues of corruption in the IPL were “disappointing and distressing”.
“It’s very disappointing. The last two weeks have been quite distressing and a feeling of anguish was definitely there. I hope the various investigations done by the police in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai come to a logical conclusion, and more importantly the cause of this problem is erased.
“It is very important because just for some greedy players, the credibility of the rest of the players should not be affected. I think it is a very important issue and I am sure it will be cleaned up very soon.”
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has however, maintained a stony silence on the matter, only referring to it in passing on arrival in Birmingham on Thursday for the Champions Trophy.