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Rajasthan Royals (RR) have dismissed match-fixing allegations levelled by Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) ad hoc committee convenor Jaideep Bihani. RR have written a strong-worded letter and called for an action against Bihani which they believe were meant to defame the franchise. Meanwhile, a report has emerged that the root cause of the serious allegations could be refusal to fulfil the complimentary ticket demands of the RCA.
"At the start of the season, the BCCI gave us a clear guideline that since the RCA is dissolved, we would be dealing with the Rajasthan State Sports Council (RSSC) for all arrangements," a RR insider told TOI.
"The disgruntled member of the RCA ad-hoc committee and his associates are demanding an exorbitant amount of tickets, and we are not entertaining them. This is the sole reason behind all this drama," they added.
The report says that RCA used to get around 1,800 complimentary tickets for every home match. This number has been significantly reduced to 1,000-1,200. A similar situation was seen when Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) refused to meet Hyderabad Cricket Association's (HCA) complimentary tickets demand. However, there were no match-fixing allegations from HCA's side despite Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) underwhelming show in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Meanwhile, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official labelled Bihani's allegations as dramatic and an attempt to garner attention.
"The RCA is currently dissolved. An ad-hoc committee has been formed, and with the elections approaching, there is a lot of drama. Everyone wants attention. The BCCI has an anti-corruption unit working 24x7 to keep bad elements away from the game. There is no truth to these allegations," the BCCI official told the English daily on condition of anonymity.
Apart from allegations, BJP MLA from Ganganagar, Bihani was not happy with RCA not being part of the management of RR's home matches.
"The ad-hoc committee was appointed by the Rajasthan state government and its term has been extended for the fifth time. We ensure all competitions take place without any issues. However, as soon as the IPL came, the Zila Parishad (district council) took control. For the IPL, the BCCI initially sent a letter to the RCA, not the Zila Parishad. The excuse given by them and RR is that we don’t have an MOU from the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Even if an MOU isn't there, so what? Aren’t you paying the Zila Parishad for every match?" Bihani was quoted as saying by News18 Rajasthan.
RR's next home and away matches
Meanwhile, RR are currently placed eighth on the points table with just two wins from eight games. The two close losses have hurt their chances of qualifying for the IPL 2025 playoffs. Their next match is against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) away from home on April 24. They will return to Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur for the match against Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 28.
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