Bedi calls for `lock, stock and barrel` ban on IPL

Former Indian spin legend and captain Bishan Singh Bedi has said that the Indian Premier League is like a corrupted seed that was allowed to blossom.

Manama: Former Indian spin legend and captain Bishan Singh Bedi has said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is like a `corrupted seed that was allowed to blossom`, and called for the ban for the tournament `lock stock and barrel`.

The statement of Bedi, known for speaking his mind, came after the recent spot fixing scandal that has engulfed the lucrative Indian Twenty20 tournament, in which Test cricketer S.Sreesanth is one of the accused. Stating that cricketers should take the responsibility for the shame that has engulfed Indian cricket, Bedi said that from the beginning itself, the IPL had been mired in controversy and should have been `nipped in the bud`, adding that money is the bane of all problems, the Gulf News reports. Hinting that he is not surprised to see top cricketers also enmeshed in the scandal, Bedi further said that he believe that cricketers are to be blamed for all that happened, adding that they are willing to succumb to a politician, businessman or a bureaucrat if big money is shown in their faces. Mentioning the gag on Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni over the scandal, Bedi said that the gag has been put on commentators and players to keep the truth from emerging out, adding that he has no sympathy for the three arrested players. According to Bedi, the players cannot be absolved from their crimes even if they have become the victims as good or bad stems from the top and trickle downwards everywhere, although he said that it is hypocritical for the cricket board to blame the players as he felt that the officials themselves created greed among players. Stating that he believed that only cricket experts must hold top Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) positions, Bedi shrugged away BCCI president N. Srinivasan`s statement that arrested Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team principal Gurunath Meiyappan is only an enthusiast, saying that every cricket fan is an enthusiast. According to Bedi, the only way to revive the confidence of Indian fans is by International Cricket Council (ICC) becoming more pro-active, adding that such corruption has flourished in IPL as the ICC has given them a gate and turned the other way and said it is a domestic tournament. ANI