Indian Premier League: BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur Confirms Bookie Approach to Rajasthan Player
According to earlier reports, a Rajasthan Royals player had been approached a month ago to fix a match in the Indian Premier League in exchange for money. The unnamed player had refused the offer and reported the incident to his franchise.
A Mumbai-based Rajasthan Royals player was approached with an offer of money for spot-fixing last month, clearly showing that attempts to fix matches is still prevalent in the controversy-laden Indian Premier League. The Rajasthan franchise confirmed the approach in a press release.
Confirming that a cricketer was indeed approached, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said the player's action showed that the Board's efforts to educate players over perils of spot-fixing are paying off. (Rahul Dravid calls for stricter laws to curb fixing)
"A player was approached and he immediately intimated @BCCI anti corruption unit. Glad that BCCI education policy showing positive results" Thakur tweeted today. His post added: "Players are alert & they know what is to be done due to our regular education efforts." (Complete IPL 2015 coverage)
Though Thakur did not reveal the identity of the player, Rajasthan Royals has five cricketers from Mumbai -- Ajinkya Rahane, Pravin Tambe, Dinesh Salunkhe, Dhawal Kulkarni and Abhishek Nayar.
According to a report, a Mumbai-based Rajasthan Royals player was approached by his Ranji teammate with an offer of money if he followed a pre-decided pattern of play.
Initially dismissing it as a joke, the player declined the offer and reported the incident to the BCCI's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).
The latest incident brings back the memories of the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, which led to the arrests of three Rajasthan Royals cricketers including former India fast bowler S Sreesanth.
The spot-fixing saga also forced N Srinivasan to step down as BCCI president after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was found guilty of betting.