The first official franchise cricket tournament to be organized by the Cricket Association of Nepal is in disarray following concerns around player payments and allegations of match-fixing.
According to The Kathmandu Post, an International Cricket Council (ICC) source has alleged that “seven or eight” players have reported being approached to fix matches in the new Nepal T20 League, while there are also allegations that some players have been spot-fixing, whereby specific actions within a match are pre-planned to assist with in-play betting.
“Some Nepali players have reported to us. We have even collected some evidence of fixing by foreign players and officials and have already sent them to the ICC,” the source is quoted as saying.
Former Nepal national cricket captain Gyanendra Malla, now captain of Kathmandu Knights, also said match-fixing was taking place, stating, “I cannot say about other teams, but a member of our team got such a proposal.
“We have already reported it to the [International Cricket Council’s] Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). But getting a proposal and accepting it are two different things. It is not necessary that everyone will accept a match-fixing proposal. We have reported it to the ACU and are monitoring it.”
It has been reported that the tournament is now being investigated by the Nepal Police upon request of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The ministry has written to the headquarters and we are already investigating,” said police spokesperson Tek Prasad Rai. “The Central Investigation Bureau has a specialised team to look into incidents like match fixing and spot fixing. They are monitoring the tournament closely.”
Match-fixing side, there are also serious concerns over whether the remainder of the tournament will proceed after organizer Seven3Sports reportedly fled back to India without paying players. The sports management firm had been granted the rights to run the tournament for the next eight years.
