'Starve your distractions, feed your focus,' tweets Manish Pandey amidst arrest of his KPL team owner

The ugly head of illegal betting rose once again as Karnataka Premier League came under the limelight for one of the owners of its franchise, Belagavi Panthers was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bengaluru for betting in the recent edition of the KPL. This team was led in the league by India and Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey.

The CCB, meanwhile, is also conducting inquiries to find out if there were any match-fixing happenings involved in the KPL, which is organized by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). Ali Asfak Thara, who own the Panthers, has a team in the T10 league as well. He was arrested on September 23 after police established that Thara was involved in betting activities with a Dubai-based bookie. The Panthers’ players were also called for questioning.

“We arrested Belagavi Panthers team owner Ali Asfak Thara for placing bets on matches. The accused placed bets with the help of a Dubai-based bookie. Regarding match-fixing, it is still under inquiry. Investigation revealed that Thara was in touch with players of other teams during KPL matches. The players are being questioned,” said Sandeep Patil, joint commissioner of police, CCB was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

Pandey looks to feed his focus, instead of being distracted by such events

Manish Pandey had a terrific KPL 2019, scoring 102* against Hubli Tigers and ended up scoring 213 runs in just 4 matches with two further half-centuries. He was recently recalled into the Indian team for the West Indies and South Africa limited-overs series, after missing out on the World Cup 2019 selection.

Despite the setback with his KPL franchise, Manish Pandey is looking forward to cementing his place in the Men in the Blue side for next year’s ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia. He is plying his trade for his state in the domestic one-day tournament Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019. He has been named the captain of the side for the first three matches with his India teammate KL Rahul being named as vice-captain. “Starve your distractions, feed your focus #WednesdayWisdom,” Pandey tweeted.

Starve your distractions, feed your focus 👀 #WednesdayWisdom pic.twitter.com/aUuazfB41q

— Manish Pandey (@im_manishpandey) September 25, 2019