Match fixing and spot fixing are a betrayal of the trust that fans have on the players
The Kathmandu District Attorney Office has registered a case against five Nepalis at the Kathmandu District Court on the charge of spot fixing during the Nepal T20 Cricket League.
The case was filed based on the investigation conducted by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police, which after a month-long probe had indicted 12 people, including players, club owners, co-organisers of the event and middlemen –Nepalis and foreigners.
The five-member investigation committee had been formed led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police after a commentator raised an alarm that there was possibility of spot fixing in the tournament.
A case against seven others is to be registered after ascertaining their names, surnames and nationality. The first-ever franchise-club based tournament was held at the Tribhuvan University cricket ground in Kirtipur from December 24, 2022 to January 11, 2023. The match was organised by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in strategic and commercial partnership with India's Seven3Sports Pvt. Ltd, whose owner and chief executive officer, have also been indicted by the CIB in the spot-fixing scam.
The five Nepalis have been booked under sections 31, 32 and 33 of the National Sports Development Act, 2077 BS, and they could be imprisoned for three years along with a fine of Rs 50,000. And if it is proved that there had been transactions between those involved in the spot-fixing case, that amount will also be confiscated. What is shocking is that among those arrested includes former national cricketer Mehboob Alam, who although did not play from any team in the Nepal T20, is said to have been instrumental in introducing the players to the owner of Seven3Sports, Jatin Ahuwalia, who is said to have master-minded the whole operation. Ahuwalia is at large at the moment, having fled the country as soon as the media reported about match and spot fixing in the tournament.
The National Sports Council and the CIB had carried out investigations separately soon after skipper of Kathmandu Knights in the tournament Gyanendra Malla had informed the Anti-Corruption Unit of the International Cricket Council (ICC) that a member of his team had received a match-fixing proposal.
This is not the first time such a scam has been revealed in sports in Nepal. In 2015, five footballers were arrested for allegedly amassing large sums of money through match fixing. Year-long investigation revealed that they had been involved in match fixing from 2008. However, the Supreme Court in 2020 acquitted them of treason and match-fixing in national and international games. Match fixing and spot fixing are serious crimes that need to be nipped in the bud. They are not only unethical but also bring ill repute to the country. Moreover, they are a betrayal of the trust that fans have on the players who are supposed to best represent their team and country at national and international tournaments. No one involved in the Nepal T20 Cricket League scam should be allowed to get off the hook under pressure from the powers that be. And CAN should be questioned as to why it chose a relatively unknown company like Seven3Sports as its commercial partner for a period of eight years.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 22, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
