Indian Premier League commissioner Rajeev Shukla on Sunday said that there would be review of the IPL rules and all the domestic players will be auctioned from the next edition but there has been no final decision as yet on bringing in the Pakistan players for the next IPL. “All domestic players will be put under the hammer from the next edition of the tournament,” Shukla said.
Asked about possibility of having Pakistani players in the next edition of IPL, Shukla dropped some broad hints, saying a team from Sialkot has been given the go-ahead to participate in the Champions League Twenty20. “We have not decided about Pakistan for IPL 6. The Governing Council of the IPL will take a call.” Asked why the uncapped players were not auctioned till the IPL 5, Shukla said, “This was done to open up opportunities for little known domestic players as teams normally go for the known faces only.”
Shukla’s comments came while answering questions on Pune player Mohnish Mishra’s claim in a television sting operation that he was paid Rs 1.45 crore over and above his contracted amount. Shukla slammed a few fellow parliamentarians like Kirti Azad who sought a ban on the IPL in the light of the recent controversies.
“If 2-3 MPs call for ban, it can’t be taken as view of the House. IPL 5 has been very successful and was watched in 192 countries across the world. Hence people are jealous. Will Parliament be closed if some MPs do something wrong? These MPs don’t know the pulse of the people,” he told an Indian news channel. Shukla dismissed Azad’s claim that he was denied of the BCCI’s one-time benefit payment for speaking against the Board and IPL. “Kirti has been getting pension for the past six years. It’s the DDCA which has raised objections after his comments on black money,” he said.
Asked about Azad’s contention that politicians should leave sports bodies like the BCCI to govern it better, Shukla said, “Indian Hockey Federation was headed by KPS Gill who is not a politician and see what happened to the game. He completely destroyed it.” He said the Cricket Board has “zero tolerance” on corruption.
“We suspended five players which is the evidence of prompt action,” Shukla said but dismissed other controversies like the Luke Pomersbach episode as off-field activities.
“We are not responsible for off-field activities and what the players do in their hotel rooms. All the controversies have taken place outside,” he said. Shukla also said that the alleged spot-fixing incidents referred to in the sting operation did not relate to IPL. “The spot-fixing was about some Indore league game. If we receive any complaint, prompt action will be taken,” he said.
He said a team of anti-corruption unit of ICC had been keeping a close watch on the players during IPL. “BCCI is the only cricket body in the world to have taken such tough action against (corrupt) players. All other Boards forgave their players.” Shukla, however, refused to answer questions on issue raised by sport minister Ajay Maken like the demand for the Board to come under RTI and go for independent audit of its accounts.
“We are ready to come under RTI if the relevant law is changed. We don’t receive any grant from the government,” he said. “Maken’s criticism shows his magnanimity, but I don’t wish to comment as he is a cabinet colleague,” he added. He said the BCCI had only got concessions like lease on stadium land which is meant for the public.
Shukla also refused to be drawn into the Shah Rukh Khan ban episode, describing it as unfortunate but said that the matter would be taken up by the BCCI Working Committee. “If SRK and MCA can work out a compromise, nothing like it,” he said.