It’s probably time for us to bid adieu to our Captain Cool’s clean boy image. MS Dhoni, who had always smartly managed to keep controversies at bay, is now in the eye of the storm. Justice Mudgal’s report, which nailed Meiyappan in the spot fixing scandal, had also mentioned that six capped Indian players, of whom one is in the current squad, might have played a pivotal role in the scam. It is now being learnt that one of these suspected players could well be our knight in shining armour, skipper MS Dhoni.
According to a report that appeared in Hindustan Times, Tamil Nadu’s Superintendent of Police G Sampath Kumar’s statement to the Mudgal Committee names MS Dhoni as being involved with Meiyappan and another bookie named Kitty, involved in a fake passport case. According to Kumar, it was during a series of interrogations regarding the fake passport case that the names of Meiyappan and Dhoni came into light.
Implications
Although the truth lies inside a sealed envelope, Kumar’s claims to HT might not entirely be false or cooked up. While Dhoni and the Mudgal committee’s members are tight-lipped, yet somewhere, the seed of suspicion has been sown in every cricket enthusiast’s mind. MS Dhoni, who’s helped India reach the pinnacles of success, is now under the scanner for having agreed to play as per a paid plan. People who believed that the plague of corruption had not managed to touch the big names, will now have to take solace in the fact that nothing has been proved against Dhoni so far. But in case, it is, it will probably spell the end of a loyalty that has defined the nation.
The intensity for India’s craze for the sport has already started dwindling, thanks to the zillion controversies the IPL has taken credit for in every season of its. While the fans still thronged the stadium to catch their favourite stars in action, yet, last year’s spot fixing controversy made it difficult for them to believe anything extraordinary on the field. With the latest unfolding of events, it will not be surprising if the seventh season isn’t as lucky as its predecessors.
What next?
While neither the team owners, nor the people concerned seem to be a tad bothered by anything at all, yet, there is an inkling that this could cause a lot of trouble for the league. However, when they have the blessings of a man who’s on a roll, perched high on the power tree of international cricket, no bullet is hard to dodge. The Indian Premier League will continue functioning as per schedule, raking in as much moolah as possible, but will lose out on one important factor: its fan base.
This is probably the right time for the other sports to strike; the iron is hot and how. The proposed hockey league, the Indian Badminton League and the football league could all creep in now and make it big!
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