Spot fixing – the act of dishonestly determining the outcome of a party of a match in exchange for money – first raised its ugly head in the IPL in 2012. At that time, there were claims that it was not only prevalent through the league, but was endemic in First-class cricket in India as well.
In this case, it was uncovered following a sting operation carried out by two reporters from India TV, Jamshed Khan and Sushant Pathak. They posed as representatives from various teams, and offered money to various players in exchange for certain predetermined actions.
Hidden cameras also showed a number of players confessing that they received much more under the table than their prescribed auction price, and that the extra sums they had received was black money.
After the footage was reviewed, the BCCI decided to conduct a preliminary inquiry led by Ravi Sawani, the former chief of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit. Five players were provisionally suspended.
T.P. Sudhindra, a medium-pacer with the Deccan Chargers, was given a life ban. It was disclosed that he had bowled a no-ball during a domestic match following a request from a reporter.
Seamer Shalabh Srivastava, who had been India’s highest wicket taker at the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2009 and was playing for Kings XI Punjab at the time, was handed a five-year. Mohnish Mishra of the Pune Warriors India and Anil Yadav of Punjab got one-year bans, as was Abhinav Bali, who was not associated with any team that year. Bali claimed to have spot-fixed during the 2009 season.
At the time the penalties were announced, BCCI President N. Srinivasan, stated that the organisation had zero tolerance for corruption and they would not stand for such nonsense.
Ironically, within a year he would be gone from his post after he was implicated in another spot-fixing controversy as well as in an illegal betting scandal. His involvement in the Chennai Super Kings came under intense scrutiny.