Reports of betting surface in the ongoing Karnataka Premier League

The Karnataka Premier League (KPL) 2018 has entered the business end of the tournament. There have been quite a few players who have done well beyond expectations so far while a few have disappointed. As things stand, the Bengaluru Blasters top the points table with 7 points from 4 games thanks to their superior NRR over the Hubli Tigers. The on-field action has been exciting but the league has come under the scanner after reports surfaced of suspicious betting patterns.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has confirmed that few players were approached by the people from other states. The players reported the approaches and the matter has been handed to Anti-Corruption Unit officials. There was also a match during the tournament that could be investigated.

“Yes, there have been people from Rajasthan who have approached players in the league, but then the players have reported all such activities to the ACU officials.” Sudhakar Rao, secretary of Karnataka State Cricket Association was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The match between Bijapur Bulls and Hubli Tigers has generated special interest as several betting companies including Betfair suspended betting after unusual betting activities during this match. However, there has been no official word on it yet. In the game, Vinay Kumar’s Hubli defeated Bharath Chipli’s Bijapur by 4 wickets with 7 balls to spare.

BCCI keeping a close watch

Though officials have reported of no unusual activities during the match, further investigation will be done on the matter. “We did not see anything untoward from a team’s standpoint and from a cricketing standpoint. Everything is under wraps as far as the franchise is concerned and we control everything which happens with the team and all the strategies which are in place,” Rahul Kargal, manager Bijapur Bulls said.

The BCCI has a zero-tolerance policy towards fixing and any sort of corruption. The matter will be taken up seriously to identify the involvement of players or officials in the course of the league and the Committee of Administrators is looking into it.

“We are very clear that there is a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption and we will look into the matter. Before the start of any league, the franchises and the players are clearly educated about anti-corruption protocols,” DianaEdulji, CoA member said about this incident.

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