On May 15, 2013, Mumbai Indians beat Rajasthan Royals by 14 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. The next day, Delhi Police arrested Rajasthan cricketers – S Sreesanth (from his friend’s house), Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan (both from the team hotel), for spot-fixing. They also arrested seven bookies. In June, Delhi Police interrogated Rajasthan co-owner Raj Kundra. IPL Controversies- Part 16: No Sri Lankan Cricketers in Chennai During IPL 2013.

Mumbai beat Rajasthan again in the Qualifier 2, on May 24, this time by 4 wickets. On the same day, Mumbai Police arrested Gurunath Meiyappan, Chennai Super Kings Team Principal, and Vindu Dara Singh, in response to allegations on betting.

BCCI handed life bans to Sreesanth, Chandila, and Chavan. Chandila was also suspended by his employer Air India. The Supreme Court of India banned Kundra from all cricketing activities for life, and asked N Srinivasan, co-owner of the Chennai franchise, to resign as BCCI President. IPL Controversies- Part 15: Spot-Fixing Allegations in 2012.

The Supreme Court appointed a committee, led by former Chief Justice RM Lodha, to investigate in detail. Following the findings, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings from the IPL in 2015 and 2016. They were replaced by two new teams, based out of Pune and Rajkot.

Later, the Supreme Court requested the BCCI to ‘reconsider’ the ban on Sreesanth. The BCCI reduced the duration of the ban to seven years. Sreesanth returned to the Kerala squad in 2020/21. He did reasonably well.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 12, 2021 07:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).