Spot fixing is a type of match-fixing in which specific instances in a particular game are fixed. Although many sports have been affected by this, cricket got hit by it after introducing the T20 format. This is because since the format is concise and involves drastic changes, it gets challenging to detect anomalies that typical spot-fixing incidents leave.
Spot-fixing was introduced to cricket by Pakistani cricketers by Mohammed Amir and Mohammed Asif at their then ‘captain’ Salman Butt. Thankfully, all three of them were caught and were given various degrees of punishments.
Another tournament which was hard hit by spot-fixing scandals was the Indian Premier League. It was first observed in the 2012 edition of the league when five cricketers were caught in a sting operation.
They were Abhinav Bali, Harmeet Singh, TP Sudhindra, Shalabh Srivastav and Mohnish Mishra. Interestingly, in the next season (2013 edition of the IPL), three more players were caught again.
They were Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan and S. Sreesanth. Most of the times match-fixing is done by bowlers who asked to bowl a no-ball in particular over. This is so because this is relatively easier to control for a fixer in question.
Most of the spot fixers which have been caught have been predominantly bowlers. While penalties in case a cricketer gets seen are high, many still do it for the money. Curbs are needed to be applied on betting because betting is the root cause of all types of fixing.
Stricter measures and actions are needed to be taken against bookies. Governments should make laws which give a criminal sentence to those involved in fixing. Then only this menace of fixing can be cured.
