The cash-rich IPL has not been having the best of runs of late – no pun intended. In fact, it’s remarkable that so many suspicious activities managed to slip through the radar like they did – and are only now coming to the fore. The latest to hit the ground running, with her own report on the IPL? Bollywood actress Preity Zinta.
Co-owner of the IPL team Kings XI Punjab, Zinta told BCCI officials during a meeting this month that some of her own players may been involved in “suspicious activities” – according to a report in The Indian Express. She also let the board officials know that the board’s anti-corruption unit had not been able to effectively curb the menace.
These revelations were reportedly made by Zinta during an IPL working committee meeting held earlier this month – on August 8. She also declared that while she had suspected foul play (often even wondering if matches were following a pre-decided pattern), she couldn’t expose this as she’d had no proof.
The meeting, according to The Indian Express, was attended by all four members of the working group – PL chairman Rajeev Shukla, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary and former India captain Sourav Ganguly. Other stakeholders in the league were also present.
My Being a Psychology Student Helped: Preity Zinta
According to sources, Zinta told officials that she came to know about suspicious activities in the league after people predicted the outcome of a game or a period of play in her presence, and they proved accurate.
– The Indian Express report
Preity didn’t stop just there. According to sources that spoke to IE, she founded her claims on having been a psychology student who could easily pick up on facial cues and body language. She told the officials at the meeting about how she had often confronted a player angrily if she thought he was involved in spot or match fixing. She had reportedly also often put up such players that she didn’t trust for auction, and tipped off other franchises about them.
The obvious question that members of the committee put to her – why hadn’t she brought this to the notice of the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Security Unit (ACSU) – was also answered deftly by her.
Zinta replied that the unit could only stop players from talking to someone or curb their movements, sources said.
– The Indian Express report
BCCI Cautious After Court’s Criticism
The IPL working committee had been formed on July 21 to temper the running of the league which had already come under the scanner of the courts. Justice R M Lodha Committee’s report on corruption in the league and its order suspending Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years were particularly taken into account.
The IPL working group, which is being assisted by the BCCI’s legal advisor U N Banerjee, is expected to submit a final report at the board’s working committee meeting in Kolkata on August 28.
– The Indian Express report
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