NEW DELHI — The Indian Premier League is a joyous, garish domestic cricket tournament invented by businessmen to make money. Intellectuals despise it, which probably reassures the businessmen that they have done something right.

The League features a very short version of the great sport, and cheerleaders who twirl dusters. It is run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, or B.C.C.I., which is a rich, opaque, private organization that is affiliated with another private body, the International Cricket Council. Professional cricket in India, which includes what is widely regarded as the Indian national cricket team, is a private enterprise with the B.C.C.I. enjoying a total monopoly over it.

Last week, the Indian Premier League faced its worst crisis since its inception in 2008. The Delhi police accused three cricketers, one of whom has played on the national team, of colluding with bookies. The cricketers and some bookies were arrested, which meant that they soon wore black hoods or towels over their faces and walked hand in hand with police officers toward the entrance of a court.

That cricket can explain India in profound ways is, by now, a tired literary cliché. But, as is the case with clichés, it is a truth beyond dispute. As the scandal unfolded over the past few days, these are the revelations it made about modern Indian society:

•When the news broke, many Indians had the courtesy to show genuine surprise and disgust. India might be a deeply corrupt society, but the typical Indian has the indestructible expectation of high ethical standards from other Indians.