Two Indians named in the South Africa spot-fixing fiasco

Back in January 2015, South African cricket was encircled with a massive controversy of spot-fixing during the country’s domestic T20 tournament. A number of massive names including the likes of Alviro Peterson, Thami Tsolekile, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Jean Symes, Pumi Matshikwe and Ethy Mbhalati were suspended. Left-handed batsman Gulam Bodi was meted out with a ban of 20 years by Cricket South Africa.

Moreover, he was arrested for playing the role of the ‘middleman’ in the scandalous act. He was charged under ‘The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act’, the law governing Anti-Bribery and Corruption prevention and enforcement in South Africa. However, he was released on bail on R3000 until his next court appearance on August 22.

The latest revelations

Nevertheless, Willem van Zyl, the prosecutor, set conditions for the former cricketer. His passport was seized and he was asked to refrain from contacting any players. Meanwhile, names of a couple of Indians have also come to the fore. Manesh Jain and Imran Muskan Shimji were named in the South African court papers as per reports in Cricbuzz.

The documents were related to Bodi’s appearance in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court. It has been speculated that Jain and Shimji enacted the role of intermediaries. They are suspected to have reached out to Bodi and introduced him to betting associations in India. The left-handed batsman visited India in August 2015, a couple of months before the start of the Proteas cricket season, to meet Jain and Shimji.

The tainted cricketer was communicated that he could earn between R600000 – R700000 (~ 44000 – 52000 USD) per match and also luxury watches provided he participates in the spot-fixing. Bodi was offered a whopping R150000 (~ 11000 USD) per match. His last first-class appearance was the match between the Titans and the Lions back in January 2015.

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