IPL fixing scandal casts cloud over Champions Trophy

The world's leading cricketers gather for the Champions Trophy in the UK that starts this week against the backdrop of a growing fixing scandal emerging from the Indian Premier League, which has already claimed several high-profile casualties.

Such is the extent of the crisis, Narayanswamy Srinivasan, the seemingly all-powerful president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) temporarily stood down from his post on Sunday.

He stepped aside, but did not resign, while police investigations into his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, arrested on May 24 for allegedly taking part in illegal betting on the lucrative IPL, remained ongoing.

Meiyappan is a business executive for the most successful IPL franchise, the Chennai Super Kings, which is owned by the 68-year-old Srinivasan.

The arrest of Srinivasan's son-in-law came after three players including India paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two teammates in the IPL's Rajasthan Royals - Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila - were taken into custody. All the accused deny any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile leading Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf was stood down from officiating in the Champions Trophy after fixing allegations against him, which he too denies, were published in the Indian media.

It was just the sort of build-up the International Cricket Council (ICC) did not want ahead of a tournament which sees Pakistan returning to England for the first time since 2010.

On that occasion, three players including Test captain Salman Butt and paceman Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif were banned and jailed after being caught up in a newspaper sting operation to expose match-fixing.

Officials had wanted to scrap what is now the seventh and final edition of the 'mini World Cup' with an inaugural World Test Championship, in a bid to boost flagging global interest in the five-day game.

However, the ICC was compelled to press ahead with this Champions Trophy when they realised they risked contravening lucrative commercial agreements with rights-holders if they did not stage a one-day tournament in 2013.

Yet, in pure cricket terms, this Champions Trophy promises to be a fascinating event.

Featuring just the sport's top eight teams, with 15 matches to be played over 18 days from June 6-23, the Champions Trophy - once dubbed cricket's "unwanted child" by former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed - is now a leaner version of the World Cup.

Given the 2011 World Cup in the Indian sub-continent lasted more than six weeks, there are many observers who believe the ICC's flagship event is now dangerously bloated.

By contrast, the format of this Champions Trophy is a throwback to the inaugural World Cup in 1975. Then, as now, eight teams gathered during the English season, and produced some marvellous cricket culminating in a brilliant final that saw the West Indies beat Australia at Lord's.

"The event is in the early part of the English summer, so the big challenge would be to adapt to the conditions, which could potentially change even during the course of a match," said former India spinner Anil Kumble, now the chairman of the ICC's cricket committee. "That's the beauty about playing in the United Kingdom."

The world's 10 top-ranked batsmen are all taking part and nine of the 10 top-ranked bowlers are present.

Spectators at Cardiff, Birmingham and The Oval, the three tournament venues, are set to see an array of talents including Chris Gayle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dale Steyn, David Warner and Saeed Ajmal taking part in a competition where every match will count.

Indeed the presence of so many stars should help compensate for the one-day retirement of greats such as India's Sachin Tendulkar.

"It is never easy to replace someone like Sachin Tendulkar," Kumble said of the star batsman.

"Wherever he has toured, people have come to watch him play."

True enough, but thoughts of the 'Little Master' could well be put to one side during a tournament where Australia are the defending champions and West Indies arrive as winners of last year's World Twenty20.

Indeed, a case can be made for all eight competing teams including hosts England, bidding to win their first major one-day international tournament.

That is the kind of uncertainty the ICC can live with happily, unlike the threat of further fixing scandals.

FIXTURES

(all times GMT):

Group A: Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka

Group B: India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies

Jun 06: India v South Africa, Cardiff (0930)

Jun 07: Pakistan v West Indies, The Oval (0930)

Jun 08: England v Australia, Edgbaston (0930)

Jun 09: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Cardiff (0930)

Jun 10: Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (1200)

Jun 11: India v West Indies, The Oval (0930)

Jun 12: Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (0930)

Jun 13: England v Sri Lanka, The Oval (1200)

Jun 14: West Indies v South Africa,  Cardiff (0930)

Jun 15: India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (0930)

Jun 16: England v New Zealand, Cardiff (0930)

Jun 17: Sri Lanka v Australia, The Oval (1200)

Jun 19: Semi-final A1 v B2, The Oval (0930)

Jun 20: Semi-final A2 v B1 (day), Cardiff (0930)

Jun 23: Final, Edgbaston (0930)

TEAM GUIDE

Group A

England

Seeding: 6th. ODI Ranking: 3rd

Have never won a major 50-over tournament and going 2-0 down to New Zealand in their ongoing ODI series has exposed lack of bowling depth. Much set to depend on form of talented Eoin Morgan in absence of injured star batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Australia

Seeding: 1st.  ODI Ranking: 2nd

May be missing several familiar faces but the defending champions still thrashed West Indies 5-0 at home in their last ODI series. The form of all-rounder Shane Watson could be key to their chances.

New Zealand

Seeding: 7th. ODI Ranking: 8th

Perennially punch above their weight in ICC tournaments and were losing finalists at the last Champions Trophy. Could go one better if Martin Guptill maintains the form that has seen him score back-to-back hundreds in the ongoing series with England.

Sri Lanka

Seeding: 4th. ODI Ranking: 5th

Have appeared in the finals of several recent ICC events without lifting a trophy and may struggle if conditions are typically English. But the likes of unorthodox paceman Lasith Malings still capable of troubling the world's best batsmen.

Group B

India 

Seeding: 2nd. ODI Ranking: 1st

Will want to put all the recent fixing scandals in the Indian Premier League behind them. Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains an inspiring captain and Ravindra Jadeja a dangerous player, but the question is will they be able to concentrate solely on their cricket?

Pakistan

Seeding: 5th. ODI Ranking: 6th

Capable of declining from sublime to the ridiculous in the space of two matches, they appear to be a united side under Misbah-ul-Haq and potentially have one of the bowlers of the tournament in off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.

South Africa

Seeding: 3rd. ODI Ranking: 4th

Strong-looking squad who will be desperate to shed their reputation as repeat-chokers in one-day events. Have world's two top-ranked batsmen in captain AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla.

West Indies

Seeding: 8th. ODI Ranking: 7th.

Won the last Champions Trophy in England in 2004 and last year's World Twenty20.  May do well to get out of a tough group but anything possible if hard-hitting batsman Chris Gayle finds form.

FLASHBACK

This year's Champions Trophy in England and Wales that starts on Thursday is set to be the seventh and final edition of the 'mini World Cup'.

1998: Dhaka: South Africa 248-6 bt West Indies 245 by 4 wkts

All-rounder Jacques Kallis took five wickets before the late Hansie Cronje, then South Africa's captain, scored an unbeaten 61 as the Proteas trumped a century by the West Indies' Philo Wallace.

2000: Nairobi: New Zealand 265-6 bt India 264-6 by 4 wkts.

After several World Cup semi-final appearances, New Zealand's first appearance in a major ICC final saw them beat India with two balls to spare with all-rounder Chris Cairns, after overcoming a knee injury, making a decisive 102 not out.

2002: Colombo: Title shared by India and Sri Lanka

Playing in the monsoon season in Sri Lanka was always a risk and the hosts had to share the trophy with India after two attempts to complete the final were washed out by tropical storms.

2004: The Oval:  West Indies 218-8 bt England 217 by 2 wkts

In the cold and gloom of an English autumn, Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw rescued the West Indies from near-certain defeat at 147 for eight with an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 71.

2006: Mumbai: Australia 116-2 bt West Indies 138 by 8 wkts (D/L Method)

Australia finally won the one major trophy that had previously eluded them on the back of a disciplined bowling performance crowned by Shane Watson's unbeaten fifty.

2009: Centurion: Australia 206-4 bt New Zealand 200-9 by 6 wkts

Australia retained their title with something to spare in a tournament that ought to have been played in Pakistan a year earlier but was held over and moved because of security concerns. Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz took three wickets in the final before Watson sealed victory with an unbeaten hundred.
 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.