A punter, who lost a lot of money on betting, has been arrested for recently approaching India pacer Mohammed Siraj and seeking help. The incident happened during the India-Australia ODI series which preceded the IPL.
The 29-year-old pacer from Hyderabad, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore, immediately reported the issue to the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit, which in turn sought help from the police to nab the person concerned.
“The accused is not part of any betting gang or anything. He is a small-time punter who lost a lot of money and wanted Siraj to bail him out of the mess. With the help of the local police we arrested him,” someone in the know of things said.
The BCCI had beefed up its ACU network ever since the spot-fixing scandal, involving Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila and then Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, was unearthed in 2013.
Now, each IPL team has a dedicated ACU official who stays in the same hotel and is there at the ground monitoring all the movements.
Also, there is a mandatory ACU workshop for players on the dos and don’ts, and if any player fails to report a corrupt approach, there are sanctions in place.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib-al Hasan was suspended in 2021 for not reporting a corrupt approach during his IPL stint in the previous season.
The Royal Challengers are currently placed eighth with four points after two wins and three defeats.