9th edition was free of corruption, says Shukla

Rajeev Shukla

Indian Premier League chairman Rajeev Shukla told AFP that this year's edition of the cash-rich extravaganza had been free of corruption thanks to a multi-pronged approach to tackling fixing.
In an interview shortly before Sunday's final, Shukla said organisers engaged the anti-graft unit of the International Cricket Council (ICC), local police and the expertise of a former top cop.
The IPL is the most popular domestic league in the world but has been plagued by controversies since its inception in 2008, with corruption and match-fixing cases often taking centre-stage.
A spot-fixing scandal in 2013 led to two teams - Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals - being suspended last year for two seasons.
Shukla said an aggressive approach to tackling fixing meant there had been no signs of corruption at the ninth edition of the IPL, which featured 60 matches in 57 days across 11 venues.
"All precautions were taken in order to curb corruption and we have been successful in that," Shukla told AFP in Bangalore, before Sunrisers Hyderabad's eight-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore.
"We engaged the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit. We also relied on the expertise of our board's anti-corruption unit led by Neeraj Kumar.
"We also spoke to Mumbai police and said that if we need any assistance, they should be ready for it," Shukla added.
In his interview with AFP, the IPL boss also played down speculation that the league could be taken out of India.
"Talks of IPL moving out of India was a knee-jerk reaction at the time of last-minute venue shifting," said Shukla. "Everybody was feeling so bad that suddenly for no substantial reason we have been asked to shift the matches," he added.