Dravid hopes spot fixing truth will be revealed

Kolkata - Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid hopes that investigators “get to the bottom of the mess and reveal the truth” about spot-fixing.

“I believe truth sets you free. I sincerely hope that we get to the bottom of this mess and reveal whatever the truth is, no matter how painful it is,” Dravid told media persons after his team went down fighting to the Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier match at the Eden Gardens on Friday.

Batting for the league, Dravid said the menace of betting was not peculiar to the IPL.

“Betting is not an issue only with the IPL, but also with the international cricket. But you don’t stop the game for that. Instead of making big statements like cancelling the IPL, I think we must all focus on facing the challenge.

“IPL is a fantastic tournament with lots of positives. But then there will be challenges which one has to face. There is no point throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” said Dravid.

The IPL scam, which seems to be getting bigger by the day, came to light when Rajasthan Royals’ S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested on spot fixing charges last week.

Chennai Super King’s Gurunath Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Narayanswamy Srinivasan, was arrested late on Friday.

Admitting that the scandal has come as a rude shock, the stylish batsman said it would take time for him and his team members to overcome it.

“You plan for lot of things including failures and disappointment. But when a thing like this comes up, you don’t know what to do. It’s challenging. It will take time for all of us to get over this,” Dravid added.