Save cricketers from Indian Peril League

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been plunged into more controversies and shame. As the fifth edition of the league is gearing up for a finish, the event has made headlines for the wrong reasons, despite producing exciting matches.

Many now feel the league is a run-away train with players and team owners sullying the image of the event.

Close on the heels of the spot-fixing controversy involving four IPL players, Kolkata Knight Riders owner and film actor Shah Rukh Khan's scrap with the Mumbai Cricket Association officials and a security guard at Wankhede stadium, Royal Challengers Bangalore's Australian player Luke Pomersbach's alleged molestation attempt on an American lady in a hotel, two Pune Warriors players, Rahul Sharma and Wayne Parnell, were detained by the police while busting a rave party during a late-night raid at Hotel Oakwoods in Juhu, Mumbai.

With so many controversies hitting the league, the event is now being termed as the "Indian Problem League" and even the "Indian Peril League".

Late-night parties

The late-night parties organised by franchises have been simmering with controversies over the last few years as these parties were often attended by the rich and famous as well as controversial personalities.

These parties also paved the way for players interacting with the wrong people and some were alleged to have got drunk and involved in altercations.

The IPL has overnight transformed many ordinary first-class cricketers into rich men. It is now understood that some of them had been captivated by the pleasures of the rich society — even losing their focus on the game.

Following the controversies, former Test star-turned-politician, Kirti Azad is on a hunger strike outside the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi and has said: "The incidents that have taken place in the past few days, as a cricketer and an avid lover of the game, I feel ashamed of myself. My fight is not against any individual, but against the system and the various ills plaguing the IPL."

Need for education

Twenty-two-year-old Parnell and 25-year-old leg-spinner Sharma have both pleaded innocent. It will be a shame if they are found guilty and their careers are destroyed due to this incident.

Last year in January, Parnell had announced that he had embraced Islam and was proving to be a hard-working player.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), while showering money on cricketers, should also educate the players on the dangers lurking round the corner that can sink their careers. Players should be stopped from following Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir's path — from fame to shame.