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Ankeet Chavan cleared to resume playing after spot-fixing ban is reduced to seven years

"Whichever opportunity I get to be back at the ground, I will be really eager for that"

Ankeet Chavan, now 35, played 18 first-class matches and 26 T20s  •  AFP/Getty Images

Ankeet Chavan, now 35, played 18 first-class matches and 26 T20s  •  AFP/Getty Images

Mumbai-based left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan has been cleared by the BCCI to resume playing professional cricket after he received a revocation letter from the board that confirmed his ban - originally for life - had been reduced to seven years.
In an email accessed by ESPNcricinfo, BCCI interim chief executive Hemang Amin confirmed that Chavan's ban had effectively ended on September 13, 2020 based on an order received last month. The BCCI ombudsman, the email said, "has restricted the ban imposed on you from life ban to 7 years, with effect from 13 September 2013. In view of the order dated 3 May 2021, the ban imposed on you therefore ended on 13 September, 2020."
While the ban in principle got over in September 2020, unlike Sreesanth, whose order for a similar term reduction arrived last August, Chavan had to wait till May 3, 2021 to get a copy of the order from the ombudsman. Chavan subsequently requested the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to apply to the BCCI for a confirmation letter, a requisite for him to return to competitive cricket, which he received on June 15 from Amin.
"The ban has been completely over as of September 2020," Chavan told PTI on Tuesday, soon after the development. "I am open for whatever (comes) my way. I am really looking forward to getting on the ground as soon as possible.
"Unfortunately, because of the pandemic (Covid-19) and the rains, the grounds would probably be closed but whichever opportunity I get to be back at the ground, I will be really eager for that."
In 2013, Chavan was given a life ban for his alleged involvement in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal. Chavan was one of three Rajasthan Royals players, along with Sreesanth and Ajit Chandila, to be chargesheeted by the Delhi Police at the time.
Sreesanth had received his order before his ban ended last year, allowing him to participate in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year.
"I got (a) letter from (the) ombudsman that my ban has been reduced to seven years," Chavan told PTI earlier this month. "The same as what was given to Sreesanth, but his order came before the end of the ban and mine after the completion of ban. Since I didn't get that letter, I had to write to MCA requesting them to write to BCCI for that letter."
Chavan, 35, has played 18 first-class matches, 20 List A games and 26 T20s. His last representative match was against the Mumbai Indians in the 2013 IPL season.