Indian court drops charges against Sreesanth

“God is with me and the prayers of my well-wishers too”, he said, while talking to reporters before taking off to Delhi along with his family members.

The notorious IPL controversy broke out in the course of the sixth version of the Indian Premier League, throughout which Rajasthan Royals cricketers Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan have been accused of tarnishing the picture of the sport.

The court had stated earlier that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his right-hand man Chhota Shakeel are also involved as they were evading arrest in the matter. Hearing the case earlier, the bench led by Judge Neena Bansal refused to release its order on Sreesanth and the other two accused.

In September 2013, the disciplinary committee of the board banned Sreesanth and Chavan for life for their involvement in spot-fixing during certain matches of the IPL 2013. The case involves cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan. For someone who is born to play cricket, it was a very tough time for me.

Police had told the court that properties of Dawood and Shakeel in Mumbai have already been attached in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case and that they have not visited India since 1993. “Hopefully I can get permission from BCCI to use their facilities so that I can get fit and come into the selection process”.

He also demanded action against former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president and current worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) chairman N. Srinivasan. Along with the cricketers, the police also nabbed Sreesanth’s friend and alleged booking Jiju Janardhan and 10 other bookies. The court reserved its order for July 25, citing the order sheet being unprepared.

However, the Delhi Police has maintained that the telephonic conversations accessed by them provides enough evidence to frame the charges against the trio.

Indian prosecutors had filed charges of cheating and conspiracy against the players over their alleged links to an organised crime syndicate during the 2013 edition of the Twenty20 competition.

Recently, a Supreme Court-appointed panel headed by former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha, suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years each due to betting.