Cricket: Rajasthan Royals Fight Back Against IPL 2025 Match-Fixing Allegations
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Why Were Rajasthan Royals Accused of Match-Fixing?
From the infamous Australian sandpaper incident to South African captain Hansie Cronje’s acceptance of remuneration from external parties, match-fixing has been one of cricket's biggest issues in recent years, and the Indian Premier League is no exception.
During the 2015 IPL season, the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were banned for two years after the Supreme Court found Gurunath Meiyappan (team principal of CSK) and Raj Kundra (co-owner of RR) guilty of placing bets on IPL matches.
The decision to kick the then two-time tournament winners, CSK, and RR, who were the champions of the inaugural season, out of the competition sent shockwaves across the globe, and since then, match/ spot-fixing has been relatively unheard of in the IPL over the last decade.
However, this season, a formal accusation of match-fixing was made against the Rajasthan Royals after the team suffered back-to-back defeats from solid positions against the Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants in mid-April.
The convener of the Rajasthan Cricket Association Jaideep Bihani was the one who raised several questions regarding the Royals’ defeats in both those matches and suggested that the team may have been guilty of match-fixing.
Rajasthan Royals' Response to Match-Fixing Allegations
Following the allegations by Bihani, a senior official of the Rajasthan Royals, Deep Roy, responded to the situation, stating that the allegations brought upon the franchise were false and baseless. He said:
"Such public statements are not only misleading but have caused serious damage to the reputation and credibility of Rajasthan Royals, Royal Multi Sport Private Limited (RMPL), the Rajasthan Sports Council, and the BCCI. They also tarnish the integrity of cricket.”
Management of the Rajasthan Royals then went a step further by submitting an official letter to the Ministers of Sport requesting action against Bihani, though no formal decision has been taken.
Since then, there has been speculation that the Royals were involved in a disagreement with the powers that be regarding a reduction in ticket sales, which some feel could be the reason for the team fixing results, but once again, there has been very little to back up the speculation.
