Expressing shock at the involvement of its Ranji player Hiken Shah in attempting to fix IPL games for which he was today suspended by BCCI, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided to counsel its players about the dangers of trying to corrupt the game.
"We are very much shocked that yet another of our players (after Ankit Chavan in 2013) has allegedly done this. We shall take corrective measures by counselling our players on the dangers of these things. It's very sad," said MCA's joint secretary Dr P V Shetty, reacting to the development.
The BCCI said in a statement earlier that Shah was found guilty of breaching the Board's Anti-Corruption Code for participants and the matter was referred to its disciplinary committee for further action.
"BCCI would wish to inform that Mumbai Cricketer, Hiken Shah, has been suspended with immediate effect. He was found guilty of breaching BCCI's Anti-Corruption Code for participants," the Board said in a statement issued by secretary Anurag Thakur.
Shah has been found guilty of making a "corrupt approach" to a fellow-player, widely believed to be his Ranji teammate and leg spinner Pravin Tambe, in the run-up to this year's edition of IPL.
The matter was reported by Tambe to the BCCI's Anti-Corruption Security Unit which conducted an investigation into the matter and sent a report to the Board.
Based on the ACU's report, the BCCI today suspended Shah, who is emplyed with the Customs department and is currently playing in the English league, with "immediate effect."
For Shetty, who owns the Payyade club for which left-handed middle order batsman Shah plays, the blow is all the more damning and he said everyone in MCA is surprised that someone could do this after having seen what happened to left arm spinner Chavan two years ago.
"After Ankit none of us ever thought another cricketer would attempt to do such things. But the BCCI must have investigated the matter and they must have suspended Hiken after getting evidence. We accept their decision and would implement it," said Shetty.
