Had 'stubbornly' refused to get involved in match-fixing: Sreesanth to SC

New Delhi, Feb 27 - Former cricketer S. Sreesanth on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that he had "stubbornly" refused to be involved in match-fixing during 2013 IPL and referred to the transcript of the recorded conversation to back his assertion.

Referring to the transcript of the recorded telephonic conversation, which says that "I am stubborn and nothing will happen", the former cricketer challenging the lifetime ban on him from playing cricket told the bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice K.M. Joseph that the material relied on by the BCCI to hold him guilty was not given to him.

The former cricketer, who was banned for life for his alleged involvement in spot-fixing during 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL), had told the court in the last hearing on January 30 that the bookie tried to drag him into spot-fixing but he did not fall for it.

As senior counsel, Salman Khurshid, appearing for Sreesanth, told the bench that the report of the preliminary inquiry was not given to him, the court said that he had the report which he got from other sources.

Khurshid said that he had the report but he was not told by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which part of the report the apex cricketing body was going to rely on against him.

The court was told that at no stage the BCCI had asked him what he had to say about the alleged material including the offer of Rs 10 lakh being cited against him.

Questioning the material that was relied on against him, Sreesanth told the court: "I was charged with the most serious offence. I was convicted of the most serious offence but the standard of proof is that of the least serious offence."

Sreesanth in the last hearing of the matter had said that he initially confessed to the Special Cell of Delhi Police about his alleged involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal to escape sustained and continuous police torture.

Sreesanth has moved the top court challenging the Kerala High Court order upholding the lifetime ban on him by the BCCI.

The BCCI had on May 15 last year opposed the plea by Sreesanth seeking a relaxation of the ban on him, so that he could play in county cricket in England.

Opposing the plea with a "heavy heart", the court was told that the apex cricketing body had already appealed against the order discharging Sreesanth in the spot-fixing case during IPL 2013.

The Delhi Police had arrested Sreesanth and his two other Rajasthan Royals teammates, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, on the charge of spot-fixing during IPL 2013.

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IANS