Cricket
A team from the International Cricket Council (ICC) called on Member Secretary of the National Sports Council Tankalal Ghising on Thursday to inquire about the controversy surrounding the ongoing Nepal T20 League.
The presence of two ICC members in Kathmandu and their meetings with Nepali officials from the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has further fuelled speculation about match-fixing.
The ICC officials had earlier visited the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground in Kirtipur soon after landing at the TIA, on Wednesday afternoon. They met with the representatives of the participating teams at the competition venue and gathered information.
The team from cricket’s world governing body also met the members of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) and umpires. It also met with the personnel of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), which is currently investigating alleged spot-fixing in the competition, according to CAN sources.
Earlier, the NSC formed a five-member committee under council member Ekendra Bahadur Kunwar, to probe the alleged match-fixing in the competition. The committee has been asked to submit a report to the council within 15 days.
The ICC team has offered to lend a hand in the ongoing investigations, the source said, without divulging details.
Although sports betting is illegal in Nepal, cricket observers with knowledge on betting say the volume of illegal bets in the Cricket Association of Nepal's first T20 venture could run into millions of rupees. The CAN leadership, however, has refuted claims of match-fixing in the competition as hoax.
Also Read: CIB probes match-fixing allegations in Nepal T20 League
Gyanendra Malla, the captain of Kathmandu Knights, revealed that one of his teammates was offered to fix a match.
"We don't know about other teams, but one of the players in our squad had been approached. We've already reported the matter to the ACU (Anti-Corruption Unit)," said Malla, the former Nepali national team skipper.
CAN's Indian partner Seven3Sports "has registration in India to do legal betting". The Company Registrar's Office has registered this company in Nepal. The National Sports Council had rejected its registration.
CAN member Chumbi Lama claimed that he and a few other members had suggested to the association's executives that the competition be held under the CAN's umbrella with the title 'Nepal Premier League'.
"We even suggested to the executives that CAN should invite international companies to bid in an open way. But those ideas were turned down," Lama said.
Seven3Sports has signed a commercial and strategic partnership agreement with the CAN to run the Nepal T20 League. The company describes itself "as a sports company that owns and delivers Sports Media Rights". It has its head office in Gurgaon, London, and the United Arab Emirates.
Media reports say Seven3Sports CEO Jatin Ahluwalia has gone back to India after reports of match-fixing emerged.
Also Read: Spectre of match-fixing threatens to ruin Nepal cricket
