Players must take the blame: Mahela Jayawardene

Delhi Daredevils captain and former Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene on Sunday blasted the players involved in the
 spot-fixing scandal and hoped that they would be given exemplary punishment as a deterrent for others.

Jayawardene said the individuals concerned must take the blame for the episode as they chose to go down
 the wrong path despite strong counselling from the administrators and senior players. "It's been disheartening
and disappointing. At times I have felt angry. Cricket deserves more from the players," he said after the Daredevils'
 game against Pune Warriors at Gahunje.

"Right from the beginning (of the T20 league season), there have been interactions and counselling. Rajasthan Royals
 have had a great season and I am sure (captain) Rahul Dravid must have forced on the team the right spirit and the
 winning attitude. If even after that some guys don't feel responsible, then they are making a bad decision. They must
 take ownership of their actions and hopefully they are taught a lesson so that others don't follow them."

Jayawardene felt dejected about the turn of events. "It was a sad day in England last year, it's a sad day now ... I
don't how we can stop this," he said. "Every senior player has taken the responsibility (to guide the youngsters). I
don't know how stronger we can be. We could go only a certain distance, beyond that it's (up to) the individual."

The 35-year-old Colombo didn't believe the fixing menace was restricted to the T20 format. "If you see the history,
it's happened in Test and one-day cricket also," he said.

Warriors' batsman Luke Wright too felt it would be wrong to blame the tournament for the latest crisis.
 "I would love to come back next season. What's happened is disappointing, I hope it's dealt with in the right way."