MUMBAI: Already battling a range of scandals, the Indian Premier League has been hit by yet another one with a leading Hindi news channel claiming that several domestic and international players, both Indian and foreign, along with the team owners are involved in fixing matches.

India TV?s sting operation which was aired on Monday during prime time revealed that the fixing menace is also prevalent in domestic cricket with women playing facilitators role.

As a corrective action, the IPL Governing Council has handed out suspension orders to five uncapped Indian players on Tuesday with immediate effect pending completion of an inquiry.

The decision to suspend Mohnish Mishra, Shalabh Srivastava, T.P. Sudhindra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali was taken after a lengthy tele-conference of top BCCI officials and members of the IPL?s Governing Council.

Incidentally, the news comes just days after the BCCI announced the formation of an anti-corruption unit to be headed by Ravi Sawani, the former chief of the ICC?s Anti-Corruption Unit.

Deccan Chargers? T Sudhindra, according to the channel, had bowled a no-ball in last year?s first class match on their reporter?s insistence. He also assured to change his team in future if he was paid Rs 6 million.

Kings XI Punjab player Shalabh Srivastava demanded Rs 1 million for bowling a no-ball in a IPL match, the channel stated.

Mohnish Mishra, playing for Pune Warriors India, confessed that he was getting Rs 14.5 million from its owner Sahara whereas he was in the Rs 3 million slab.

Many other revelations came to light in the sting operation that probably for the first time in cricketing history, senior and junior cricketers playing in rival teams jointly fixed the outcome of matches.

A clear pattern has supposedly emerged where a particular bowler has bowled easy deliveries and dropped catches, while his ?partner in crime? went on a scoring spree, the channel averred.

The sting operation also brought to light the ?murky? dealings between players and franchises thereby bringing the issue to the fore what was only being spoken in hushed voices in cricketing circles.

IPL players caught during the sting also confessed to receiving more than the prescribed auction amount in the contract through illegal means which makes a mockery of the salary cap guideline laid down by the BCCI.

It needs noting that BCCI had in the past imposed bans on Chennai Super Kings? player Ravindra Jadeja and Royal Challengers Bangalore player Manish Pandey for negotiating with other team owners for a larger financial contract.

It is also widely believed that top players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni who were retained by their respective franchises have been paid more than the prescribed $2.4 million which franchises are supposed to pay for the first player retained.

The BCCI as usual has released a brief statement vowing to "act against corruption". However, it would be interesting to watch how the world?s richest cricket tackles the crisis.

"Some TV channels have been reporting a story pertaining to alleged unacceptable practices by players participating in the IPL. The BCCI will not tolerate any violation of regulations and any act of corruption," BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.

The complete footage of the ?sting operation,? will be sought, and examined thoroughly, Jagdale added.

India TV Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma on his part assured that it will extend all possible help to the BCCI.

"The BCCI has already asked us to provide the tapes and we are ready to cooperate not only with BCCI but also investigation agencies. We want players to play honestly and respect the fans who literally worship them," Sharma told the press conference that was telecast live on the channel.

He further revealed, "We had been working on this sting since May last year. We started it right after the IPL season IV ended and worked on it till 21 April 2102."

"We first spoke to Deccan Chargers player T P Sudhindra last year as agents of a sports management firm. He opened up very easily and gave us a lot of information on how spot fixing is prevalent in local, domestic and IPL matches.

"We didn?t trust him initially and to prove that it can be done, he bowled a no-ball in one of the domestic matches. Another thing was the revelation that Kings XI bowler Shalabh Srivastava was ready to do spot fixing during the current IPL."

Sharma also pointed out the names of two notables who refused to walk the path of their shamed fellow colleagues.
"However there were players like Kolkata Knight Riders? Rajat Bhatia and Rajasthan Royals? Samad Fallah who didn?t fall for the lure of money and we should appreciate them," said Sharma.

Last year, Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed in Britain for their role in spot-fixing during their test match against England at Lords in August 2010. The International Cricket Council subsequently banned the three players for a minimum of five years.

The spot-fixing scam had come to light after the now defunct British newspaper News of the World carried through a sting operation revealed how sports agent Mazhar Majeed boasted of how he could arrange for players to rig games for money.

MUMBAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Daredevils has launched its new official ?Munday Dilli Ke? to herald the coming season of DLF India Premier League.

The song, sung by Jaspreet Jasz and composed by Arijit Datta and Micu Patel, was launched on Delhi Daredevils? radio partner Fever 104 FM.

GMR Sports head marketing Hemant Dua said that the new song is in keeping with the vibrant feel that the squad has with players skipper Virender Sehwag, vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen, David Warner, Ross Taylor and Irfan Pathan.

?The theme for the song is in keeping with our Dare to Succeed philosophy and a clarion call to all Delhi Daredevils supports to come out and play on the frontfoot. More importantly, this was commissioned in response to a demand from our supporters to revamp the song,? Dua added.

Arjit Datta said it was a wonderful experience putting the song together for the Delhi Daredevils. ?Micu and I loved doing it. It was pure magic and the manner in which the song has panned out made us realise that we were sitting on something big. The song has an urban, in your face, touch to it, with the dhol adding a Punjabi flavor.?

Jaspreet Jaz ? who calls himself a Dilli ka munda at heart and has sung in Telugu and Hindi movies ? said he loved singing the new official song of the Delhi Daredevils. ?I have followed the response to the song and feel humbled by the overwhelming show of support already,? he said.

MUMBAI: Delhi Daredevils has named the vastly-experienced Mahela Jayawardene, who led Sri Lanka to the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, as its vice-captain this season.

Making this announcement, Delhi Daredevils? Team Mentor TA Sekar said today that it was an easy decision to make. ?He has an excellent track record as a leader of men and draws enormous respect from his team-mates. We are aware of the immense value that Mahela brings to the table and are sure that the team will benefit from his presence in the leadershi p team.?

Sekar said skipper Virender Sehwag had welcomed Jayawardene?s choice as vice-captain. ?Viru told us that he would find Mahela?s experience as a leader very handy. We are confident that they will bring the best out of the squad this season. That will enable us stay competitive through the season ? and have the chance to celebrate Mahela?s 35th birthday on 27 May,? he said.

Delhi Daredevils successfully bid for Jayawardene at the IPL Player Auction on 4 February. He has led Sri Lanka in 11 T20 internationals, 102 one-day internationals and 28 Test matches. Of these, Sri Lanka won eight T20 internationals, 59 one-day internationals ? with the showing in the 2007 World Cup being one of the high points ? and 15 Test matches.