Delhi Daredevils captain Mahela Jayawardena, who has played for three franchise teams in the IPL, said on Sunday at the end of the day individuals had to take responsibility because they were the ones who were taking the decisions.
“One has to play with right attitude and right spirit. I am disappointed and disheartened. As a cricketer I am angry about it as well. Cricket does not deserve this from these players. I can see the disappointment in the fans. I don’t know how this can be stopped. Everyone is working hard. The administrators are frustrated as well. They have left no stone unturned to make sure that the game is played in the right spirit.
“They (players) have let down everybody, the volunteers in the IPL included. One has to fight this (menace) some how. The game does not deserve this,’’ Jayawardene was responding to questions on the spot-fixing allegations against three Rajasthan Royals players.
Jayawardene said good things had happened to the Rajasthan Royals team this season, especially for Rahul Dravid.
“Rahul is leading the team and is having a great season and so are all the guys in Rajasthan Royals. I am sure he would have enforced on all the players the winning attitude and other good things and everything was going well for him. And still you had these guys (Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila) not taking responsibility.”
“Every senior cricketer takes the responsibility to teach the right things. From the beginning of the IPL we have had lectures (from the IPL authorities) and all information given to us and still this has happened. It’s sad. It happened with the Pakistan team in England and that was a sad day. But one has to tighten things up and move on and make sure that the next generation learns from this and that they don’t make these mistakes.”
He said the players and administrators had said enough in the last few days about the need to keep the game clean. “It has happened in international and domestic cricket before and everyone has been rallying together to make sure this does not happen. Individuals have to take ownership of this. It’s simple as that. If someone wants to go in that direction they will. We have to make sure that we teach them a lesson.’’
Jayawardena said he did not believe that Twenty20 was a fertile ground for such malpractices. “No, not at all. If you see the history of the game, a lot of people have been caught in Test cricket and one-day cricket also. I don’t think one can point a finger at Twenty20 cricket. It’s cricket in general.”
Pune Warriors’ Luke Wright said he would love to come back and play in the IPL. “It has hurt everyone in cricket. It is very disappointing, but hopefully those people will be dealt with the right way.”
