Minister questions IPL’s gaming idea

Sports minister MS Gill has said the Board of Control for Cricket in India must consider ethical and moral questions ahead of deciding commercial ventures.

Updated on: May 10, 2009, 04:08:26 IST

Hindustan Times | By HT Correspondent, Mumbai

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Sports minister MS Gill has said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must consider ethical and moral questions ahead of deciding commercial ventures.

He was referring to the mobile game 6UP (turn to Page 20 for details on the game) launched by the Indian Premier League (IPL), a day after Hindustan Times questioned whether it was right for an official body to do this.

The minister said “We have already had, sometime back, a match-fixing scandal, in the game. It seems the ICC had expressed concerns about such possibilities in the IPL league.”

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, who is on a holiday, said he had not heard of this development. Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s chief administrative officer, refused comment, but Gill’s statement found support from some former cricketers.

“The BCCI should have dissuaded the IPL from any such activity,” Madan Lal, former India cricketer and 1983 World Cup winner, said. Former wicketkeeper batsman Syed Kirmani didn’t agree. “I’ve heard about the game. It’s innovative. If the IPL has launched it, they must have looked at the legal aspects,” Kirmani said.

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