BCCI keeping an eye on the operations of match-fixing 'Kingpin' Ravinder Dandiwal

The issue of match-fixing has hampered the sport in the past few decades. There have been many instances, especially in domestic leagues, where match-fixing scandals have been detected and investigated. However, unlike Sri Lanka, India is yet to criminalise the act of match-fixing.

Recently, Steve Richardson, ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit’s co-ordinator of investigations, had also stated that a match-fixing law would be the ‘single-most-effective thing’ to protect the game from corrupt practices. Moreover, the law is inevitable in India due to the fan-following and craze of the sport in the country.

Amid BCCI’s pursuit to keep the game away from corruptors, the board confirmed that it’s keeping an eye on Ravinder Dandiwal, an alleged kingpin of a major international tennis match-fixing syndicate.

The Sydney Morning Herald had initially reported about Victoria Police naming Dandiwal as the “central figure” in the match-fixing scandal. It was later confirmed by a top BCCI anti-corruption official, as reported by The Indian Express.

BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) head Ajit Singh revealed how Dandiwal convinced certain low-ranked tennis players to throw away their matches while his companions placed bets with bookies. Talking about Dandiwal’s connection with cricket, Ajit Singh revealed that the accused was operating at the club level and even had connections with the Afghanistan Premier League.

There have been inquiries about Dandiwal: Ajit Singh

“He is originally from Mohali near Chandigarh but moves around a lot in the Middle East and other places. His name has figured among those who organise cricket leagues. Once it figured in a private cricket league in Haryana, which the ACU scuttled. An advisory was sent to all BCCI-registered players not to participate,” revealed Singh as quoted by Indian Express.

“He had taken a cricket team to Australia, where a club was organising a tournament, and a few players from that team never returned… We found that the players who had vanished were charged hefty sums to be part of the team. Probably, it was an immigration racket and that’s why we lodged a complaint with police,” he added.

Singh termed Dandiwal ‘person of interest’ and affirmed that the board is keeping an eye on his operations.

“There have been inquiries about him, but he is not a participant, so there’s very little action that we can take against him. He hasn’t figured in the inquiries we conducted in the T20 leagues (organised by state associations). But he is a person of interest, and we do try and keep him under watch,” Singh further added.