Former opener Arun Lal said that no sympathy should be shown to these players who were found guilty of indulging in shadowy deals in the Indian Premier League and other matches.
"No sympathy should be shown to these players. Those engaging in such corrupt practices should be handed exemplary punishment," he said.
"Sudhindra received life ban as he was actually involved and it's the right decision by the BCCI. But some are having just the intent and not actually doing and so they got lesser punishment. We cannot let anybody unpunished for damaging the image of the game which has survived for so long. I am happy with the decision of the BCCI," he added.
The BCCI's disciplinary committee, headed by President N Srinivasan, today handed the punishments on the five players after a meeting in Mumbai.
Apart from the sanction on Sudhindra, BCCI slapped a five-year ban on Shalabh Srivastava while Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali were banned for a year each.
Former wicket-keeper batsman Syed Kirmani agreed that exemplary punishment should be given to cricketers found guilty of corrupt practices but felt that all those involved in the scandal should have been handed life bans. MORE