New Delhi: A cricketer, competing in the Indian Premier League in the UAE, has “reported a corrupt approach”, putting BCCI’s anti-corruption unit (ACU) on high alert.
- The Kerala-based player was a part of the Indian squad which won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup. However, in 2013, Sreesanth faced a major downfall during IPL season as he, along with his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, were banned from playing competitive cricket for life for allegedly being involved in spot-fixing.
- IPL 2021: TRS MLA condemns David Warner captaining SRH as his previous involvement in alleged ‘match fixing’ David Warner was banned for a year by Cricket Australia for his role in the infamous ball-tampering (sandpaper gate) scandal along with then Aussie captain Steve Smith in 2017 but has never faced any charges for match-fixing.
The 13th edition of the IPL in being held in the UAE in a bio-secure environment, which has significantly reduced the chance for persons with dubious credentials to approach players directly.
The threat, however, remains as players can be approached on social media.
BCCI ACU chief Ajit Singh confirmed the development to PTI.
“Yes (a player has reported approach),” Singh, the former DGP of Rajasthan Police said.
“We are tracking him. It will take some time,” he said, when asked if the alleged corruptor or “person of Interest” has been nabbed.
The 37-year-old pacer was initially banned for life by BCCI for his role in the spot-fixing scandal in the 2013 IPL but the ban was reduced to seven years in August 2019.
As per anti-corruption protocol followed by the BCCI, the name of the player (Indian or overseas) or the franchise is kept confidential.
Most of the players, especially the younger ones are mostly on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter where unknown people masquerading as fans try to befriend them.
A senior BCCI official said all the players whether overseas or Indian international, uncapped domestic players have all attended multiple anti-corruption classes.
“The player who was approached immediately sensed that something was fishy. He had a suspicion and he immediately shared his concerns with the ACU,” a BCCI official privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity. “Every player, even those who have come from the U-19s, are well aware about each and every anti-corruption protocol.”
Due to health safety protocols this year, the ACU organised its mandatory counselling sessions online for all eight teams, instead of in person.
BCCI ACU chief Singh is leading an eight-man team in the UAE.
The BCCI has tied up with UK-based company Sportradar to prevent betting and other corrupt practices during the IPL, through its Fraud Detection Services.
...(Eds: Fixing spelling in headline)Dubai, Mar 2 (PTI) Seasoned India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin along with England captain Joe Root and West Indies' new batting sensation Kyle Mayers were on Tuesday nominated for the ICC 'Player of the Month' for their exceptional performances in February.
Ashwin played three Tests against England and scored 106 in the second innings of India's second Test victory at Chennai and took his 400th Test wicket in the third Test victory at Ahmedabad.
'Scoring a total of 176 runs across these games with taking a total of 24 wickets, Ashwin is the deserving candidate to be nominated in the men's category for February,' the ICC release stated.
'England Test captain Joe Root makes it to the list of nominations again this month for his outstanding performance with the bat and the ball. He scored a total of 333 runs and took 6 wickets overall in the 3 Tests that he played against India,' it further stated.
Root started the series with a superb 218 in the opening Test.
From the West Indies, Test debutant Mayers played two matches against Bangladesh and had a match-winning knock of 210 to help his team successfully chase a target of 395 at Chittagong.
In the women's section, Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver of England along with Brooke Halliday of New Zealand have been nominated. PTI KHS PMPM