Kanpur Police likely to quiz two Gujarat Lions players over Fixing:- Betting and fixing cases have popped up quite often in the history of Cricket. Being sheer spoilsports, these tamper the spirit of the game. International Cricket or domestic leagues, no format of the sport has been devoid of these diabolic acts.
In the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season 10 as well, reports have come up regarding a few betting rackets being busted. Some days ago, Kanpur police made arrests from the hotel in which IPL teams – Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils were staying. Another addition to these arrests of three bookies by the police has been that of Nayan Shah from Mumbai.
About Nayan Shah
Shah is a former Maharasthra U-19 cricketer. Upon investigation there were snaps of the Wankhede pitch found from Nayan’s phone. It was discovered that the lad charged Rs. 1.5 lakh and handed information on the nature and quality of the pitches. Moreover, Ramesh Kumar; an employee at Kanpur’s Green Park stadium was hired by Shah.
Kumar would receive instructions from the latter about making the pitch slow by putting extra water. He then would send the pictures of the pitch to Nayan. The water boy earlier made 5,000 bucks from his job. By working for Nayan Shah, he had approximately made Rs. 20,000. Ramesh Kumar is currently in custody. Police found that Nayan’s room was shifted from 9th to 17th floor, the same as that of the management of Gujarat Lions.
Shah was in touch with a man named Bunty to whom the information from the former would be passed on. Post this the bets would be placed. In a Whatsapp message to Bunty, Shah mentioned the names of two players who were set to do whatever is asked. He disclosed the names of those players during interrogation. These couple of players from Gujarat Lions would be questioned by the police.
BCCI’s statement
BCCI issued a statement post the arrests and investigation. It said – “The anti-corruption unit of the BCCI has been tracking activities of certain individuals, as a result of which, three suspects were arrested in Kanpur on Thursday. The Uttar Pradesh police crime branch could successfully foil the alleged betting attempts of the accused. This was an outcome of the ACU of the BCCI, having worked closely with various law enforcement agencies, who will continue further investigations, in this matter.”
These arrests have again brought back the question of corruption in the highly followed and celebrated tournament.
– by Akshata Tilwankar
