Gavaskar's solution to spot-fixing: education, education, education
Players must be alerted about the pitfalls, batting legend says
Dubai: Educating cricketers on the pitfalls of being involved in spot-fixing is a must, according to legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar.
Speaking to Gulf News in Dubai yesterday, Gavaskar said: "More education is needed from the teams that are running the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises.
"They must actually tell the players about the dangers and pitfalls. Like we have team meetings to discuss strategies, all the IPL teams before the start of the tournament must explain about the pitfalls to not only the young players but everyone," said the 62-year-old, who was being unveiled as a brand ambassador for building material company Danube.
Sting operation
"But overall I don't see this incident as a real threat. The owner of the television channel (which did the sting operation to expose the players) has said that top players were not involved and that it was only the fringe players who were talking about being involved.
"So I believe that education part is very important not only for the uncapped players but everybody."
When asked about the Board of Control for Cricket in India's plans to include Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 champions in the next Champions League, Gavaskar said: "The inclusion of Pakistan's champions will add to the competition. We have seen that when the champions of different countries come and play, then the competitive nature of the tournament increases. Now with Pakistan's champions coming in, the Champions League will become even more interesting."
The former opening batsman went on to give some insight into whether he liked to be on strike when he first walked out to the crease. "No. 1 was my batting position. In fact, when I started I batted at No. 2 and only later began facing the first delivery of the match.
"It made me realise that the pacers, when they start their bowling, will not be at their fastest and it helps you to get off the mark. Only in one-dayers did I prefer to bat at No. 2, allowing Krishnamachari Srikkanth to face the first ball because he could even hit the first ball for a six."
