MUMBAI: Indian off-spinner Ajit Chandila was banned from cricket for life on Monday for his involvement in a spot-fixing scandal while batsman Hiken Shah was suspended for five years over corruption.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) found 32-year-old Chandila, who does not play international cricket, guilty of spot-fixing while playing for the Rajasthan Royals franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2013.

Shah, a first-class domestic player from Mumbai, was suspended for approaching another player about fixing ahead of the 2015 IPL, a breach of the BCCI’s code of conduct.

“Ajit Chandila is banned for life from playing or representing cricket in any form or to be associated in any way with the activities of the board or its affiliates,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.

“Hiken Shah is banned for five years from playing or representing cricket in any form or to be associated in any way with the activities of the board or its affiliates,” Thakur added.

India’s scandal-hit IPL has been been rocked by allegations of corruption, match-fixing and crooked umpires since it launched with great fanfare in 2008.

Chandila, along with teammate, former Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, and another player, were acquitted last year of criminal charges over the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandals following a police investigation.

The BCCI has already banned Sreesanth and the other player for life for breaching the code.

They had been arrested in 2013 along with scores of bookies as part of the probe into allegations that players had underperformed in return for cash from bookmakers.

Monday’s statement was released following a meeting of the BCCI’s disciplinary committee in Mumbai.

It said the committee had failed to take a decision on Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf, who was accused along with Chandila, and gave him more time to formally respond to the allegations.

Last July, the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings were suspended for two years from the IPL due to misconduct by its officials.

Former lawyer Shashank Manohar took charge of the BCCI in October, vowing a new era of clean governance of the sport.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2016