‘Iphones were offered to people’: shocking revelation on KPL match-fixing scandal

Mumbai: The Karnataka Premier League (KPL) match-fixing scandal took the entire nation by a storm. Shocking arrests were made and the credibility of the KPL fell down to a new low. The Bengaluru police did not take much time to investigate and make some high profile arrests. But, the people in and around the KPL are the least bit surprised as many of them already knew what was going to happen.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, an ex Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) official said, “It was a matter of when not if.” Another player who has been a part of the KPL since the very start, said, “When they know some guys simply won’t do it (fix), they are extremely careful around us. When you are not around, it becomes free for all.”

Several players from the KPL agreed to speak on the scandal to HT, but they requested anonymity. One player revealed a shocking detail. He said, “A player came up to me to say he was offered an iPhone just to meet someone. There is one coach who was carrying a bag full of iPhones to be distributed among players.”

Another player said, “The problem is when the rot is top-down, players are reluctant to report. Even if you don’t want to do what they ask you to, reporting it when coaches and owners of your team are involved is not easy. My captain, who was clean, figured out how wrong things were within the team and began announcing the playing eleven in the team huddle after the communication devices were taken away.”

Back when Anil Kumble took charge of Karnataka cricket between 2011 and 2013, he was responsible for the discontinuity of KPL. Predicting the future, Kumble had hinted that KPL could give a backdoor entry to people not passionate about cricket.