Karnataka Premier League (KPL): The reputation of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) has been damaged as the Police has arrested quite a few players and coaches for their direct involvement in fixing the matches in the 2018 edition of the league.
The latest to be arrested is Nishant Singh Shekhawat who was a part of the Bengaluru Blasters squad. There are some serious accusations on Nishant.
It has been reported that Nishant had contacts with the bookies and he set up a meeting between the bookies and the players, not just the Bengaluru Blasters players, but the players of other teams as well.
M Vishwanathan, who has already been arrested by the police in relation to the case, was playing for the Hubli Tigers, but Nishant knew him as both of them had played in the Karnataka cricketing circles together at different age groups.
It was Nishant’s proposal to Vishwanathan and later his meeting with the bookies which ultimately led to match fixing.
While the players have been caught, the bookies are still out of the reach of the police.
The circulars have been issued though and the police is looking out for them as arresting them is vital in order to collect sensitive information regarding fixing that might have gone on in the prior editions of the tournament as well.
Apart from Vishwanathan and Nishant, Vinu Prasad, who was a member of the support staff of Bengaluru Blasters, is also understood to have played a role in fixing the matches and he has been taken into custody as well.
The players used to give signals to the bookies before opting to do things as planned. The signals included asking for a different bat or rolling up the sleeves etc. so that the bookies knew well in advance what the players were going to do and when.
