IF ANY cricket team can be guaranteed to create more headlines off the cricket field then on it, it is Pakistan. It is shame that no other team in international level sports has the talent to be in the news for all the ridiculous reasons that Pakistan has.
Match fixing charges are not new for them, every year wherever the team plays, Pakistan cricket team is charged with ball tempering or match fixing. The same story of denials is repeated by International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who promise stringent action but fail to act.
It is sad to see that the Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) has been lenient and failed to take tough steps against its players. Question is will the dropping of tainted players end match fixing in cricket?
With no particular solution for spot fixing being found yet, it is time to think about legalising cricket betting in India. It is hardly a surprise that an India-Pakistan ODI draws bets worth $35 million as cricket is a religion in both countries.
I strongly feel betting in cricket should be legalized to prevent the spoils being spent on criminal activities and to generate revenue for the government. It will also help the fight against match fixing.
It must be recalled that when Delhi police released the transcript of former South African captain Hansie Cronje’s conversation with an Indian bookie in 2000, three international captains including former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin received life bans, some players were fined but ICC could not find a permanent solution. Actually, problem begins when bookies try to get prior information of events and are ready to share their profit with the cricketers to fix incidents.
When lotteries and gambling on horse racing is legal, it is bizarre not to legalise cricket betting. It will help government to control betting industry. By the way, bookies would have to register themselves, everything will go according to laws, and it will help to track the culprits. Will it help?
Reforms rarely attain full correctional consequence. So, the test is whether legal sports betting will fundamentally modify shady bookies’ profit calculations. Yes, it will.
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