Video footage of fake cricket tournament that was created to dupe the Russians goes viral

Following a tip, police in Gujarat’s Mehsana district last week detained four men for organising a T20 tournament similar to the IPL which was aimed at taking bets from players in three Russian cities via the social media app Telegram. Indian law forbids sports betting (apart from horse racing), but according to the police, there is frequently a lot of unlawful gambling going on in cricket.

The planners started the tournament a few days after the completion of the original Indian Premier League and more than nine games had been played in a secluded area of Molipur village during the Mehsana “tournament,” when the police busted the racket. In order to essentially build the ambience, they confiscated cricket equipment, cameras, fake crowd noises downloaded from the internet, and even speakers that would accentuate the running commentary, with a mimic commentator.

A clip that has gone viral on social media shows how the camera showed just one angle of the match, which was the pitch, and it included only a few people who acted as players. The two batters, a bowler, an umpire, a wicketkeeper, and an additional fielder. The shots hit by the batter were also not shown in the video of the game, which was aired on YouTube to make it look real.

Here it is, the moment you’ve all been waiting for….

Footage of the Fake IPL, which somehow conned people in Russia into betting on it.

‘Chennai Fighters’ off to a solid start, pitch looking in good condition. pic.twitter.com/XtaL5W5zli

— Jordan Elgott (@JElgott) July 11, 2022

Majority of the betters were from Moscow

According to investigators, the majority of the betters were headquartered in Moscow, Voronezh, and Tver. Sefi Mahamad Saqib Riyazuddin (Meerut), Koli Mahamad Abubakar (Molipur), Davda Sadiq Abudlmajeed (Molipur) and the mastermind behind the whole process Dawda Shoyeb Abdulmjeed have been arrested by the Gujarat police pertaining to the case.

The umpires were given walkie-talkie in order to keep the communication going. The umpires and players were being instructed on the device on when to hit what kind of a shot, and which appeal was to be declared out so that the betting money could be gained accordingly. While the players were provided with fake jerseys and were playing under fake team names like Chennai Fighters and Gandhinagar Challengers, they were actually the village locals and were paid 400 rupees per game.