Given that cricket is part of the national psyche, Indians felt hugely betrayed when the match-fixing scandal first broke out in 1997. Cricketer Manoj Prabhakar blew the whistle. Then, cricket matches became scams and cricketers and the betting mafia were linked. Too much has happened after that, and though the International Cricket Council (ICC) has made efforts to stop corruption in the game, cricket lost a great deal of credibility and continues to do so, with the long shadows of corruption thrown over the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well.

So, as the Cricket World Cup begins today, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, one can only hope that allegations of corruption do not sully what promises to be a great 1.5 months for the cricket fan. Of course, efforts have been made in the run-up to nab bookmakers and ensure that we have a clean tourney. State police have cracked down on bookies prior to the World Cup and one knows that eyes will be peeled for suspicious activity.