Al Jazeera should give us all the material they have relating to corruption in cricket, says ICC CEO

Middle-eastern media channel Al Jazeera took the cricketing world by storm last week as they brought to light about the alleged pitch-fixing and spot-fixing scandals that dated back to a Test match between Sri Lanka and India last year. Former Indian first-class cricketer, Robin Morris was caught on tape in the sting operation conducted by Al Jazeera journalists.

With respect to this, ICC CEO David Richardson appealed to Al Jazeera authorities to co-operate with the governing body and help curb corruption in international cricket all across the globe. The ICC body wants to probe the allegations of pitch fixing and spot-fixing and accordingly punish the people found guilty.

“We will conduct a full, thorough and fair investigation. I ask Al Jazeera to release to us all the material they have relating to corruption in cricket. We will conduct a full, thorough and fair investigation and will ensure no stone is left unturned as we examine all allegations of corruption made in the programme. To do so, we need to see all the evidence they state they possess,” said ICC CEO David Richardson in a statement.

Al Jazeera had earlier claimed in the sting operation that Test matches which involved India, Sri Lanka, Australia, and England were all under suspicion of illegal practices. Richardson himself had remarked that there were criminals “swanning around” cricket that needed to be banished for good.

“I am encouraged by their public commitment to cooperate and now ask that they do so, in releasing all relevant material. We understand and fully respect the need to protect journalistic sources and our ACU team have worked with other media companies on that basis. However, to prove or disprove these allegations, we need to see the evidence referred to in the programme,” Richardson added.