Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20: 'Corrupt approach made to player,' reveals BCCI President Sourav Ganguly

What's the story?

BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly has disclosed that there was a corrupt approach made to a player during the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The former Indian captain even revealed that the player reported to the anti-corruption unit after the unethical offer made to him.

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The background

The Indian domestic cricket structure has being a fighting a war against corruption with several instances surfacing in the recent past. A few weeks ago CM Gautam was charged with accepting money to under-perform in the Karnataka Premier League final. Subsequently, some more names related to the tournament have come under scanner.

The heart of the matter

Talking to the reporters after BCCI's Annual General Meeting, Ganguly spoke about the corruption prevailing in the domestic leagues.

"It is very hard to stop tournaments on the basis of who gets approached, even in the Syed Mushtaq, I was told that one of the players was approached."

When asked about the fixing scandals in KPL and Tamil Nadu Premier League, the BCCI President responded,

"Yes, we have dealt with it. We have spoken to the respective states. The Karnataka Premier League is on hold now, till all this gets cleared. There is one in Chennai, Saurashtra and Mumbai. For Saurashtra and Mumbai, there hasn't been any complaints, but in Chennai, there have been a couple of complaints, but we will deal with it."

He accepted the fact that the matter has gone out of the board's hands but assured that the anti-corruption unit will work hard to control these issues.

"What is wrong is what happens after they get approached and it is very hard to stop tournaments because somebody is just approached," he said. "What you rightly said in some of the states it has gone to the next level. We are dealing with it and have to get anti-corruption system right. And we will deal with it. The states have brought to our notice, we need to get anti-corruption right, nobody wants this, it doesn't help anyone. And we will put a system."

Speaking further about the two corruption-marred leagues, Ganguly stated,

"At present the two leagues - in which the betting and fixing happened - one is on hold KPL and Chennai has suspended the two franchises. [We will] Try and put best anti-corruption [system], try and make it even stronger and assess it. If it doesn't work or doesn't stop, we will have to think of something else."