CHENNAI: The scourge of match-fixing refuses to die down. Former Tamil Nadu allrounder R Sathish was approached on social media to fix matches earlier this month and he was offered Rs 40 lakhs. The 41-year-old player told TOI that he refused the offer and went on to file a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Bengaluru police.
Sathish said that the 'approach' was made by an individual named Bunny Anand on Instagram. "It was earlier this month that I got a message on my Instagram account. I immediately refused the offer and I thought it is my duty to report the matter. I informed BCCI Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) and upon their advice went to file a complaint with the police a couple of weeks ago," Sathish told TOI on Tuesday.
At present, Sathish is part of the current Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) champions Chepauk Super Gillies. He had earlier played for IPL franchises like Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders.
It was also learnt that the individual concerned had claimed that two players have already agreed to his offer. However, it couldn't be ascertained whether the offer made to Sathish was for fixing matches in Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). "I wasn't specifically told anything about fixing TNPL games," Sathish added.
The TNPL was mired in controversy a couple of years earlier when allegations of spot fixing and match fixing had emerged. However, BCCI had cleared the league of corruption charges as they couldn't find any conclusive evidence to prove any malpractice had taken place.
BCCI ACU chief Shabir Khandwawala also said that his unit will be probing the matter. "Sathish informed us and ICC earlier this month that he was offered money to fix matches. Since we are only facilitators in such cases, we advised him to lodge a police complaint. He has done that and now police will investigate and do the needful," Khandwawala said.
Sathish said that he is ready to cooperate with the authorities. "I needed to come clean on this matter, so I raised the complaint. Now, if the police and the authorities want to probe the matter, I am open to cooperate with them. We need to keep the game clean," said Sathish.
