A player was approached by bookie during Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Sourav Ganguly

The menace called match-fixing has reared its ugly head once again in Indian cricket. The country has already suffered a lot in the past due to match-fixing. Who can forget the scandal at the start of the millennium when the then captain Mohammad Azharuddin along with Ajay Jadeja was banned for being involved in the scandal.

In 2013, three Rajasthan Royals cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were also banned for fixing. Sreesanth, who was a two-time World Cup winner, was banned for life before his sentence was shortened this earlier this year. Consequently, the fast-bowler will be eligible to play from next year.

And match-fixing has rocked Indian cricket once again with Karnataka Premier League (KPL) and the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) finding themselves in the middle of the controversy. In September, the police in Tamil Nadu stumbled upon clues of match-fixing racket in TNPL and it went on to open the pandora’s box.

A few days later, KPL had also found itself in a similar situation and the investigation regarding match-fixing is still underway. The police have already made some high profile arrest with a number of players including former IPL player CM Gautam facing the wrath for being involved in malpractice. Out-of-favour India international Abhimanyu Mithun is also under investigation.

Fixing fears in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy too

As the authorities are doing all they can to get to the root of the fixing scandals in KPL and TNPL, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that the bookies have not spared Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy either. The former India skipper on Sunday said that a bookie had approached a player during the just-concluded tournament. The approach was reported to the Board’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).

“Even in the Syed Mushtaq, I was told that one of the players was approached but I don’t know the exact name. But there was an approach made and he reported it,” Ganguly said at a press conference after the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Ganguly further said that bookies approaching players is not unusual or the problem. He insisted that the action of the player after being approached is all that matters, saying:

“That’s (approach) not the problem, that’s not wrong. What is wrong is what happens after they get approached.”