Rajasthan Royals, on Tuesday evening (April 22, 2025), broke their silence on being accused of match-fixing by Jaideep Bihani, the ad-hoc committee convenor of the Rajasthan Cricket Association. According to a report in Sportstar, the franchise wrote a letter to the Rajasthan government and the state’s Sports Council demanding strict action against Bihani.
Bihani based his allegations after Rajasthan lost a close encounter in Jaipur on April 19 against Lucknow Super Giants, falling short of just two runs in the chase of 181. It was the second time in four days that the 2008 IPL champions capitulated in a run chase, having suffered a similar defeat against Delhi Capitals last week, where they lost in the Super Over.
Calling the allegations “completely false and baseless,” Royals wrote a letter to state sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and the Sports Council.
“Jaideep Bihani, convener of the ad-hoc committee of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), has issued a statement regarding Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) performance in recent matches, Rajasthan Sports Council and BCCI. In which he has made comments raising doubts on the performance of Rajasthan Royals and hinting at manipulation in IPL matches,” read the letter.
“Jaideep Bihani has also accused Rajasthan Royals management, Rajasthan Sports Council and BCCI of colluding with each other to exclude RCA ad hoc from participating in IPL. Whereas in reality, all the allegations made by ad hoc committee convener Jaideep Bihani are completely false and baseless. There is no evidence for them…”
Rajasthan also lashed out at Bihani, a BJP MLA from Sriganganagar, for tarnishing the franchise’s reputation with needless allegations.
