IPL easy target for match-fixers, says Gilchrist

by **JAHANGEER** 8th June 2010, 12:42 am

LONDON: The organisers may insist it is clean but Adam Gilchrist
feels the Indian Premier League is an “easy target” for match-fixers as
players are accessible during the event. “It’s been discussed among
players in the IPL – more wondering whether it goes on. There’s a strong
thought that we’d be naive to think it’s not happening, because it’s a
pretty easy target. There’s a lot of accessibility to players and it’s
early in its governance,” Gilchrist, who is here to play for county side
Middlesex, said. The retired wicketkeeper-batsman said corruption in
cricket can only be stopped by heightened vigilance.“I’ve
been made more aware of it since getting here, seeing some of those
comments from players who have been approached,” Gilchrist told ‘The
Daily Telegraph’. “I’d be concerned if it was happening, but I haven’t
seen anything concrete to say it is. You need evidence, and I’ve not
seen any. “I hear suggestions and whispers, and this stuff that’s come
out – police coming and arresting players – is pretty hardcore. But
unless you get evidence and have something to back it up, it all means
nothing. So all the speculation is not good for the game, either,” he
added. The IPL is in the middle of a raging controversy presently over
the ownership patterns of the eight franchises and money laundering. The
league’s Commissioner Lalit Modi has been suspended on charges of
financial bunglings and there are also whispers of betting and
match-fixing in the event.