Report: 2011 World Cup winner was in touch with bookies

The lead investigator of the 2013 Spot-Fixing scandal has revealed that a 2011 World Cup winning Indian player was involved in touch with a bookie before an international game in 2009.

According to a report in the Indian Express, Police Officer BB Mishra, the lead investigator, said: “There is one such instance related to an international match that was played in India. But I could not probe that instance to its logical conclusion. That is what I am suggesting. This thing happened during an international cricket match, probably in the run-up to the match. Just a day or two before the match. It happened in 2008-09,” he said.

While Mishra did not reveal the identity of the player, he said that could not investigate further, because there was no time.

“It was a phone conversation (between the player and the bookie) that was recorded… It would have taken a lot more time (beyond) October 31. There are two voices on the telephone. Allegedly one is that of the player and the other one is of the bookie.

“If I have to investigate, I have to take voice samples of the player and the voice samples of the bookie. Send it for a forensic opinion. That takes a month. And then, why do I have to do it when it was not part of my charter? It could have been done if we had more time…We didn’t get an occasion for the player and the bookie to be confronted. I managed to speak to the bookie. He did say he was in touch with the player,” he explained.

“I would have confronted the player with the information I got from the bookie. But (that) evidence didn’t come from the bookie though I knew the evidence existed, I could not pursue it. I knew of this specific instance where the bookie had confided in somebody else, I got that information, the bookie accepted that information before me also, he was willing to give the evidence but in the last minute he decided not to.”

According to Mishra, he had investigated nine players, but his investigation of officials was the only thing that went public and was used in the case.

The 2013 IPL was embroiled in a cloud of match-fixing when Delhi Police arrested three Rajasthan Royals cricketers - Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.