CIB starts investigation of spot-fixing after Home Ministry instructions; cricketers yet to get salaries; commentator Timalsina sees irregularities, quits job after nine days
Kathmandu, January 3
The Nepal T20 Cricket League took an ugly turn today after the Home Ministry wrote to Nepal Police to investigate into the spot-fixing scandal and payment of players, while a commentator made serious allegations of irregularities in the maiden official premier tournament of the Cricket Association of Nepal.
CAN has signed Seven- 3Sports as strategic and commercial partner handing the Indian company the exclusive rights of organising the franchise-based tournament. The tournament got underway on December 24 after three postponements but it failed to remain away from controversies.
Neither Seven3Sports paid the rights fees of Rs 30.9 million to CAN before the start of the tournament, nor did the franchise teams make payments of 50 per cent of players' salaries as promised.
The organisers, Seven- 3Sports also failed to acquire work permits for foreign players in the absence of recommendation from the National Sports Council, which did not give approval after the CAN could not produce documents asked by the sports governing body. Somehow, the event got underway with the then Minister for Youth and Sports Maheshwor Jung Gahatraj inaugurating the tournament at the TU Stadium.
The focus then shifted towards matches, players' performances and results. But the ill-fated tournament came under scrutiny after betting and spot-fixing became a hot topic in cricket fraternity. It took an ugly turn today after the Home Ministry instructed Nepal Police to investigate and take necessary action after it received reports of spot-fixing, players' payment and irregularities in the tournament. According to Home Ministry source, the Central Bureau of Investigation has already started its investigation.
Earlier, commentator Sachin Timalsina made serious allegations of spot-fixing by local and international players in the tournament.
"I was shocked to witness a lot of dubious moments on the field which were enough to prove spot fixing," said Timalsina, who quit the job on the ninth day of the tournament.
"There are lots of evidences that lead to spot-fixing. The appointments of lesser-known international players as team captains, dropping Sikandar Raza after two matches despite his good performance, change of bowlers during matches, and intentional noballs are few examples," he said.
"I can clearly say that Siddhant Lohani's four consecutive sixes was fixed after watching the bowler's deliveries, while Ameer Hamza's noball is another example."
Timalsina said he was hurt the most when a former national team allrounder bowled a no-ball which reminded him the case of Pakistan's Mohammad Aamir.
"The managers can be seen talking to players at boundary lines wearing team bibs. After seeing all these irregularities, I reported to Anti-Corruption Unit but my pleas fell into deaf ears and I decided to quit the job I love the most," he said.
"As a commentator, I watched every ball closely and I am sure NepalT20 has gone into wrong hands. As a cricket lover I could not stop myself from speaking out. I had an expectation of a clean tournament with the involvement of CAN but I was wrong. We have to save Nepali cricket and I want help and support from stakeholders," he added.
Former Nepal national team skipper Gyanendra Malla, who plays for Kathmandu Knights, accepted that one of his players was approached for spot-fixing. "One of our team members was approached and we reported the incident to ACU," said Malla without elaborating. More than 10 cases have already been reported to the ACU.
Malla said the team owners were out of contact and the players were yet to receive payments. The Knights and Biratnagar Super Kings refused to take part in a toss in the day's first match. After CAN officials assured the payments within two days, the cricketers agreed to play. Due to a delay of around two hours, the match was reduced to nineover-a-side and the Knights recorded a 34-run victory over Super Kings to strengthen their chances of playoffs.
"We just wanted assurance of payments from CAN and team owners, who have gone out of contact without information. It did not happen overnight. We tried to settle the issue through captains and CAN but no one was ready to take the responsibility and we were forced to boycott the toss," he added.
National team skipper Rohit Paudel, who has been appointed captain of Super Kings from previous match, said the boycott was mainly related to the payment of players.
"When we talked about the payment, the team owners asked us to contact CAN. And the CAN too could not give us assurance of payment," he said.
"We agreed to play after CAN promised us payment within two days. There is a communication gap with the owners, who have not responded to us properly. I think cricket board needs to take the responsibility." CAN and Seven3Sports officials could not be reached for comments.
In another match, Lumbini All Stars defeated Janakpur Royals by five runs.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 4, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
