New Delhi: The latest revelations of the Mudgal Panel report can prove to be disastrous for the already controversial cash rich cricket league IPL. The confidential report by the panel headed by retired justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal has indicated that there may be involvement of 12 or 13 players in the fixing saga and not just six as earlier believed to be.
However the panel claimed that the witnesses who were testified before the panel can be termed only as “ unverified”.
These dozen or so players belong to Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, whose owners are already being investigated in the corruption scandal, and three other teams. The report was submitted to the court in a sealed cover.
Apart from naming twelve players in the report , the panel has also alleged that top officials of BCCI and IPL office bearers were also involved in the murky game of betting and fixing.
The sources, however, pointed out that the panel has been cautious, and informed the apex court that the names in the list and the allegations against them have not been validated
The report was submitted in confidence to ensure that names of players, IPL officials and team owners did not get tarnished before an investigation.
In its 84-page main report submitted to the court in February, the panel made no mention of the confidential annexure. The panel however reiterated that since the match-fixing and betting allegations have a “ring of truth'', an independent investigating team should be constituted to probe specific allegations.
It indicated that officials from agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax department and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence could be members of such a team.
The panel had also said that names of other national and international IPL players came up during their investigation and this had not been probed by any agency. The panel said it could not launch a probe due to a “paucity of time”.
