MUMBAI: The Disciplinary Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come down heavily on the five players accused of indulging in malpractices.

The committee comprising N. Srinivasan, Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah has decided to debar T Sudhindra from playing any form of cricket for life. He will also not be entitled to any benefits extended by the BCCI or hold any position in any cricket association affiliated to the BCCI.

The Committee held Sudhindra guilty of actually receiving a consideration to spot-fix in a domestic cricket match, and hence imposed exemplary penalty on him.

The committee also held Shalabh Srivastava guilty of agreeing to fix a match and negotiate terms for the same, even though no actual match-fixing or spot fixing took place. He has been debarred for a period of five years, from playing any cricket matches besides withdrawing any benefits that domestic cricketers are entitled to.

Furthermore, the committee has barred Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali from playing any cricket matches for a period of one year.

The committee was of the view that the three players, through loose talk and unsubstantiated bragging, brought the game into disrepute, and hence, have been held guilty of the lesser offence.

The penalties will be effective from 15 May, the date of the suspension of the players.

The decision came after the committee‘s meeting to peruse the report of Ravi Sawani, the Commisioner of Inquiry. The Committee also accorded a personal hearing to T. Sudhindra, Abhinav Bali and Mohnish Mishra. Shalabh Srivastava and Amit Yadav pleaded their respective cases through teleconference.

Hindi news channel India TV had done a sting operation exposing corruption in the cash-rich IPL.

MUMBAI: India TV Group business head Amit Kumar has resigned from the organisation and will be joining BAG Films and Media Ltd.

Kumar?s exact designation at BAG Films could not be ascertained.

When contacted, Kumar confirmed that he resigned from India TV this evening. "The last four years at India TV have been very exciting and a great learning experience for me."

Kumar was Channel [V] VP sales before joining India TV as president-business development.

Kumar has over 20 years experience in the media industry, of which 10 years were in Star Movies, Star News, Star Vijay, Star World, and National Geographic, with responsibility for key regional and national portfolios.

Kumar began his career with The Times of India in 1991 and worked as senior officer, response. In 1995 he moved to Hinduja Group?s InNetwork Entertainment and worked for the CVO cable distribution network. He joined Star India in 1997 and worked with the group for over 10 years in various capacities.