Former Australian Test fast bowler Shaun Tait has revealed that the scandalous allegations during this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) had left him terrified of being entrapped by a foreign land's 'dark underworld' with 'cricket infamy'.
Tait was initially named as a suspect in the investigations of the fixing allegations that engulfed his Rajasthan Royals franchise in May, in which a list of 39 players headed by 27-Test India paceman S.Sreesanth and Indian don Dawood Ibrahim featured in a 6000-page charge sheet in relation to fixing Royals' games.
According to News.com.au, Tait, whose name was globally smeared on social media, said that the IPL allegations was far greater in comparison to his self-imposed exile in 2008, adding that he and his other Australian teammates like Brad Hodge, Shane Watson, Brad Hogg and James Faulkner, all from Royals, were in a 'pretty bad place'.
Tait further said that the allegations came from a 'dark place' where no one would want to be involved.
Stating that they were all the more terrified being from another country, Tait further said that it was one of the hardest and darkest periods of their lives, adding that he was an easy target for vicious innuendo as he used to bowl a lot of wides.
According to Tait, he and the others were everyday living in fear of being arrested every day they heard their names on the TV in connection to the case, adding that they also wondered if mud would stick to their names despite exoneration by the police.