Police arrest Bengaluru Blasters batsman Nishant Shekhawat in KPL match-fixing case

Police have made further inroads in their ongoing investigation into Karnataka Premier League’s spot-fixing scandal. Police, on Tuesday, arrested Bengaluru Blasters batsman Nishant Singh Shekhawat for his alleged involvement in match-fixing. Nishant is not the first cricketer to be arrested for being involved in the scandal.

Prior to him, police had arrested M Vishwanathan on October 25. Earlier, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) which is probing the case under Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil, had also arrested Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of the KPL team Belagavi Panthers in September. Bengaluru Blasters bowling coach Vinu Prasad is also under arrest. The police had also arrested celebrity drummer Bhavesh Bafna for allegedly approaching a player and luring him to concede more than 10 runs in an over.

The CCB have issued lookout circulars against two bookies who were allegedly involved in betting and fixing the games last year. Both the bookies are currently on the run. According to reports, the police are hopeful that the arrest of the two bookies will open the pandora’s box and could lead them to other betting rackets.

Nishant Shekhawat was the link

According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, Nishant Singh Shekhawat was the link between his team members and the bookies. The report claimed that it was Nishant who introduced Vishwanathan as well as Prasad to Monty aka Manoj Kumar, a Chandigarh-based bookie. The police managed to know about Nishant only after arresting coach Prasad and teammate Vishwanathan.

The latest scandal has pretty much tarnished the image of KPL. Karnataka State Cricket Association had started the tournament way back in 2009. The tournament is inspired by the IPL as city-based franchises fight it out for the ultimate prize. KPL came under the scanner soon after the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) found itself engulfed in fixing scandal.

Earlier, police had revealed how the players carried out fixing in the games during KPL 2018. During match-in-question on August 31, Vishwanathan signaled for a change of bat after eight balls had been bowled. By the time the third over had ended, he rolled up his sleeves in order to give signals to the concerned persons.

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