The Rajasthan Royals, the very first champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), are in hot water right now after their close 2-run loss to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) this season. At one point in the game, it looked like the Royals had things under control while chasing a target of 181 runs, but LSG’s bowler Avesh Khan had other plans. He really turned the game around for his team in those tense last overs. But with this nail-biting finish, accusations of match-fixing have been thrown against the Royals.
Jaideep Bihani, who heads the Rajasthan Cricket Association’s temporary committee and also serves as an MLA from Sri Ganganagar, didn’t hold back. In an interview with News18 Rajasthan, he openly questioned how legitimate the Royals’ loss was, especially since it all came down to the final moments against LSG. Bihani also wondered why his committee, put together by the state government, seems to have no control over what the Rajasthan Royals do during the IPL.
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He explained that the ad hoc committee has been around for quite some time, now in its fifth extension, and they work hard to make sure everything runs smoothly in the world of cricket. But as soon as the IPL came around, the district council took the reins. Bihani pointed out that initially, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) only communicated with the Rajasthan Cricket Association and not the district council. He called out the Royals and the district council for claiming they couldn’t proceed without a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. His response was pretty straightforward: “If you don’t have an MoU, so what? You’re still paying the district council for every match, right?”
As the final over rolled around, Rajasthan Royals needed nine runs to win, and Avesh Khan was the bowler for LSG. Dhruv Jurel was on strike with Shimron Hetmyer waiting at the other end. Avesh pulled off a fantastic yorker spree, which really put the pressure on the Royals’ batters. They could only manage to score 6 runs in that final over, resulting in a heartbreak for the Royals as they lost by a mere 2 runs.
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Bihani has been vocal about his concerns regarding how things are handled at the Rajasthan Royals for some time now. Just recently, he criticized the Sports Council for keeping the temporary committee out of the IPL situations involving the Royals. It seems there’s quite a bit of tension brewing around this team and their recent matches.
