Are IPL games fixed?

The Indian Premier League is one of the biggest cricketing leagues played worldwide, featuring more than a hundred national and international players from different countries for a period of over two months. Around seventeen seasons have been played since 2007, following India’s heroic win in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2007, defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in South Africa. With this, the game has evolved from metro cities and now has reached tier 2 cities with teams like Lucknow Super Giants, which joined in 2022.

Despite the continued growth of the league worldwide, there has been talk about match-fixing in the Indian Premier League over the years. However, there is no proof or any instances of fixing in IPL games, as it is one of the most renowned leagues in Asia, controlled and managed by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). However, from time to time, several incidents have shocked the cricketing world, fueling speculation that some matches may have been fixed before the results were declared.

The IPL was an experiment in 2008, which became very successful as it evolved over the years, particularly in a world where people have little time due to their hectic lives. IPL offers a short, exciting experience, with the added glitz and glamour of Bollywood superstars, all in just four hours. You witness everything from strategies, high-flying catches, and monster sixes on the ground—a complete action-packed spectacle that sometimes goes down to the last ball and still ends in a tie.

Everything about the IPL is great—support, fans, film star team owners—but there are some who try to manipulate the game through illegal activities such as bookmaking, match-fixing, and ball tampering. Despite this, the league has been a pioneer in the cricketing world, generating the most revenue from media rights, sponsorships, and team title sponsors. But certain past incidents have fueled claims that IPL games are fixed by team owners and bookies.

Let’s look at 3 incidents considered black days for Indian cricket:

1. 2013 Spot-Fixing

In the 5th season of the Indian Premier League, two big teams—Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural winners—were banned after their players and management were implicated in match-fixing and betting. Three Rajasthan Royals players were arrested on charges of spot-fixing: S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan.

Additionally, Gurunath Meiyappan, a key official for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was arrested on the day of the final match between CSK and Mumbai Indians on allegations of betting, resulting in the RM Lodha Committee suspending the owners of CSK and Rajasthan Royals for two years.

2. 2021 Pitch-Siding Incident

In the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League, a pitch-siding incident shocked Indian cricket fans and reignited the topic of fixing in the IPL. It occurred at Feroz Shah Kotla (now Shri Arun Jaitley Stadium) when bookies employed a cleaner to engage in pitch-siding during an IPL game. Pitch-siding is the practice of transmitting information from sporting events for the purpose of gambling or directly placing bets.

3. 2024 Bookies Arrest

In the most recent edition of the IPL, the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the BCCI arrested four suspected bookies during the 2024 IPL. Two of the bookies were arrested from the luxury boxes at Sawai Mansingh Stadium during a Rajasthan Royals game against Delhi Capitals.

However, despite these past incidents, we cannot definitively say that games in the Indian Premier League are fixed, as 99.99% of players steer clear of any individuals who might put their careers in jeopardy. If someone were to approach a cricketer like Virat Kohli or Hardik Pandya with a shady offer, they would immediately report it to the authorities, even if it’s in the middle of the night.

A cricketer dedicates their entire life to making it to the top, often just to have the opportunity to appear on TV. The last thing they want is to ruin their careers and personal lives by getting involved in such incidents. They are well aware that the moment their name is linked to any wrongdoing, there will be an investigation, and by the time it's over, their career could be finished.

They would lose all their sponsors, and their income could drop to zero unless they've established another source of income, like a business, while playing. Until a few years ago, spot-fixing was the only real threat, but even that is now too risky. Cricketers still remember what happened to Sreesanth, whose career came to a sudden end.