Indian cricket board (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur reiterated on Tuesday that there was no way back for Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila because the BCCI would not lift the penalties imposed on them. Thakur, however, said the three Rajasthan Royals players could appeal to the court of law.
“Any Indian citizen can go to a court of law if they are not happy with any decision. Delhi police will go to the higher court to challenge the lower court verdict. I haven’t received any representations from these players, so as of now the ban stays,” Thakur told a website.
Thakur’s comments came in the wake of the Kerala Cricket Association’s (KCA) request to BCCI to lift the life ban on Sreesanth. Though a Delhi trial court has dropped all charges against the players -who were accused of indulging in spot-fixing -on grounds of insufficient evidence, Thakur said, “Criminal proceedings are entirely different to disciplinary proceedings. The decision has been taken by the BCCI’s disciplinary committee, not by a court of law. Action has been taken against the players on the report of our anti-corruption unit. As per the BCCI rules and regulations, the ban on these players will stay.”
Sreesanth and Chavan were banned for life by the BCCI, while Chandila’s penalty is still pending Asked why the BCCI had formed a five-member working group to study the Lodha panel order, Thakur said, “We have made it clear that we will implement the verdict in toto. The working group has been formed so we can take a well-informed, well-thought decision, for the wellbeing of cricket. The Mudgal commission took a year to come out with their report. Lodha committee took six months. We have sought only six weeks to speak to various stakeholders before implementing the report.”