Former Board of Control for Cricket in India President Shashank Manohar on Wednesday called for the suspension of the Indian Premier League till a thorough probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation "nails the culprits and the game is cleaned up," according to the PTI. Manohar was also critical of the decision to stage a part of the 2014 IPL in the UAE next month, which he said, "Will further tarnish the already murky waters surrounding the tournament." Manohar's call "came just a day after Supreme Court made stinging observations that [BCCI President N.] Srinivasan should step down to ensure a fair investigation to the IPL spot-fixing scandal." Manohar: "Considering the latest developments in the BCCI, it is my considered opinion that until the faith of the people in the integrity of the game is restored, the IPL tournament for the year 2014 should be suspended" (PTI, 3/26).
AFTER PARTY: In New Delhi, Digbijay Mishra wrote the BCCI decided to stay away from organizing “controversial” after-match parties in this year’s IPL "and has left it to the team franchises’ to take a call on the matter." These after-match parties, on a full season basis, ride various sponsorship tie-ups worth Rs 100-150 ($16.6M-$25M) crore "and comes handy as secondary source of revenue for the franchises." IPL after-match parties have made headlines "mostly for the wrong reasons," for instance, the spot-fixing of matches during IPL 6 (Indian BUSINESS STANDARD, 3/26). The PTI reported a court pulled up the Delhi Police on Wednesday "for delay in proceedings in the IPL spot-fixing case." The court "was irked over the delay in completion of the scrutiny of documents filed by the police along with the charge sheets in the case." The judge directed the police "to furnish and supply all the documents by May 16, the next date of hearing" (PTI, 3/26).
