Rajasthan Royals captain Rahul Dravid expressed hope that investigators would "reveal the truth about spot-fixing" so that the IPL could regain the trust of cricket fans. He also emphatically stated that cancelling the tournament was not a solution to the current corruption crisis that the league faces.
"The truth always sets you free, that's what I believe," Dravid said. "I really hope that we just find out the truth and get to the bottom of it, whatever it is and however painful it may be."
Speaking to the media after his team's loss to Mumbai Indians in the qualifier, Dravid praised the IPL but said the tournament needed to address and "correct" the challenges before it.
"I have always said the IPL in itself is a fantastic tournament. There are a lot of positives about it but there are challenges in the IPL as well, as we have seen in the last week, ten days. There are other challenges that come up from time to time and have to be dealt with. There is no point - if you completely throw away the tournament, it is like throwing away the baby with the bathwater.
"An issue of betting is not only about the IPL. An issue of betting has been seen in the past also in international cricket. We don't stop international cricket because of that. If that yardstick was used, then we should stop all cricket. But I think we need to sort the issues out rather than make big statements, like "cancel the IPL and throw it away and all that", because there are some really good positives that do come out of it."
Dravid, who led Royals to their best finish in the IPL since their title win in 2008, said his team could take pride in their campaign this season. Against Mumbai at the Eden Gardens, Royals made a strong comeback into the match, taking four wickets in 16 matches to force a close finish, but couldn't defend their total of 165.
"It's always disappointing when you lose a game but it was a close game. It was one of those that could have gone either way. Unfortunately, we ended up on the losing side," Dravid said. "That's disappointing, but all the boys in the team can be proud of the way we fought today as well as the whole campaign."
Dravid also said that the forthcoming Champions League T20, for which Royals have qualified with their third-place finish, would be his last tournament. "At 41, 12 months is a long way away," he laughed. "We have luckily qualified for the Champions League, I think that will be it."