Match Fixing - A Disgrace To Cricket

Till now, cricket had a glorious name in the world of games. People often say " it is no cricket" to indicate that the stated thing is not fair. They still utter the names of  Bradman and Ranji with love and respect. Names of many other cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar,  Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev are mentioned whenever there arises a need for giving examples of honest and respectable players.  

Unfortunately, the days of glorious cricket seem to have departed from the arena of games and sports. The main culprit for blackening the fair name of cricket is match fixing, a practice which has spread ignoring the boundaries of nations and continents. Match fixing affects both the match and the player. It settles before the game is played which team shall be the winner. Likewise, it fixes the score of a player after which he must not make any attempt to gain a single point. You will certainly want to know what that factor is that exercises such powerful control over the result of a match or the score of a player. The amount which is offered is so huge that it will stagger the imagination of an ordinary man. Cricket is called the game of uncertainties; its results cannot be predicted before-hand. It is so exciting and enjoyable only because of the uncertainty involved in it. But, where is the romance if the outcome of the match is decided well before its start? Where is its charm if a player is asked in a dictatorial way to score this far and no more? If cricket actually comes down to this, the spectators have every right to complain that they have been cheated. Nobody can blame them if they demand the refund of their ticket money. Nobody can find fault with them if they turn their attention from cricket and focus it on some other game. Of course match fixing is not done openly but secretly, and thousands of dollars change hangs on account of this. The bookies give a large amount of money to the players to let them play according to their wishes. Then they ask other persons to bet money on the expected outcome of the match and they win, while others lose. 

We are of the opinion that since the contract between cricketers and bookies take place verbally, no tangible written proof can be found against the former. However, many things will be unearthed if C.B.I and the Income Tax Directorate work together. The bank accounts, lockers and business of their suspected players must be thoroughly searched. It is alleged cricketers have already deposited their ill gotten grains in banks of Britain, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore. Only a thorough investigation will unearth the huge black money involved in cricket betting and match fixing.