Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary on Thursday said that the “crass and cringeworthy” comments made by India all-rounder Hardik Pandya on a popular celebrity chat show can attract match-fixing syndicates who make use of honeytraps to lure cricketers.
“The very first caution that the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) officers give in briefing to the players is to beware of situations of honeytraps and the comments made on the show make it seem that the players may just be ripe for the plucking,” Chaudhary was quoted as saying by DNA.
Pandya and KL Rahul stirred the hornet’s nest after the duo appeared on a TV show and Pandya made some ‘sexist’ remarks on the show. Committee of Administrators (CoA) Chief Vinod Rai has already recommended a two-match ban for the comments made by these cricketers on the show.
Chaudhary has urged the CoA to award stern punishment to both the players. He said that CoA should not hesitate in banning Pandya and Rahul from the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) if they are found guilty of breaching BCCI’s contract regulations. Citing the ban imposed by Cricket Australia on skipper Steve Smith, and his deputy David Warner and Cameron Bancroft on the ball-tampering saga, the senior BCCI official said, “The players who appeared on the show have definitely brought the game, Indian cricket and cricketers into disrepute by their words and admitted conduct. The consequences for bringing the game of cricket into disrepute are definitely something which will have to be considered… It would be pertinent to note that the COA had, in those facts and circumstances (Smith and Warner), also taken the decision to ban those players for the IPL 2018.”
He added that these players are contracted by BCCI and they should have sought permission from the BCCI before appearing on the TV show. “The provisions of the earlier contracts and the practice in place would have required these contracted players to seek permission to appear on the show. Was such permission sought?” Chaudhry stated in a letter to CoA member Diana Edulji.
BCCI Hony Treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry in a letter to COA member Diana Edulji yesterday stated, “The provisions of the earlier contracts and the practice in place would have required these contracted players to seek permission to appear on the show. Was such permission sought?”
— ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2019
Source: Zee News