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BCCI chief N Srinivasan and IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla (right)

FIVE Indian Premier League players were suspended from cricket on Tuesday (May 15) as fresh fixing allegations hit the game and threatened to further tarnish a competition already dogged by controversy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) moved swiftly after a sting operation by a local TV channel highlighted alleged fixing and corruption in domestic matches.

The five - T P Sudhindra, Mohnish Mishra, Abhinav Bali, Amit Yadav and Shalabh Srivastava - are all first-class players, but have yet to break into international cricket.

“The BCCI has decided to suspend these players from all cricket till preliminary investigation into the whole episode is completed,” IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla told reporters.

The inquiry will be carried out by former police officer Ravi Sawani, who has previously served on the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, Shukla added.

Hindi-language India TV showed Sudhindra, of the Deccan Chargers, allegedly agreeing to bowl pre-arranged no-balls in a local amateur match, while Kings XI Punjab player Srivastava was reportedly heard boasting he could do the same in the IPL.

The channel claimed it had taped seamer Srivastava telling its reporters he could deliver a no-ball in the IPL for `1m($18,500/£11801.88).

Srivastava, 30, who has played two seasons of first-class cricket for Uttar Pradesh, denied the allegation and threatened to take the TV channel to court.

“The voice which suggests that I am ready to spot-fix is not mine,” he told the Indian Express newspaper. “I am ready to clarify this to the BCCI, my team owners and the IPL governing council.

“I will definitely file a case against them.”

Another Kings XI Punjab player, Yadav, was taped saying he had reason to believe that last season’s IPL match against Delhi Daredevils was fixed, but could not substantiate his claim.

Mishra and Bali also featured in the sting, which India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma said had been worked on for almost a year.

“We stand by our story and will co-operate fully with any investigation the BCCI plans to carry out,” Sharma told reporters.

Sudhindra has played in three IPL matches this year and Mishra played one game for Pune Warriors, but Srivastava, Yadav and Bali have not featured in the current tournament.

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