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NEW DELHI. — Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf was handed a five-year ban by the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) yesterday over his involvement in an illegal betting scandal that blighted the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Controversy plagued the sixth edition of the lucrative Twenty20 league with former India paceman S. Sreesanth and two other Rajasthan cricketers arrested on suspicion of accepting money to concede a fixed number of runs.

All three were given life bans by the BCCI. The Chennai and Rajasthan franchises were subsequently suspended from the IPL for two years after key officials from both teams were found guilty of illegal betting. The investigating Mumbai Police also named Rauf in the chargesheet but the umpire’s lawyer said his client had done nothing wrong. — Reuters.