WI cricketer accused of match-fixing

CAUGHT ON BACK FOOT: Police have mentioned the name of a promising West Indies all-rounder.

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New Delhi: The first One-Day International between India and the West Indies in Nagpur on January 21 has come under scanner for match-fixing, the Nagpur police said on Wednesday.

In a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI), the Nagpur police wrote that there is "definitive proof in telephone conversations."

The letter says that West Indies cricketer Marlon Samuels is said to have leaked vital match information to bookie Mukesh Kochchar.

Police has established a nexus between Samuels and Kochchar and say that the all-rounder had leaked information like pitch conditions, the West Indies batting order and team strategies ahead of the start of the match. Kochchar is also said to have links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar said that Samuels gave out information on the batting line-up but "we have no evidence about financial commitments made."

He added that Samuels was also in conversation with the betting racket organisers.

"We have given the letter to BCCI after inquiries for more than two weeks. We had information of the West Indian all-rounder Marlon Samuels approaching an underworld bookie," DGP Kumar said.

"Samuels had contacted the bookie about three times. Marlon Samuels had given the bookie the details about bowling order in the second half. He had also told him that he will be staying in Mumbai after the tour and Marlon did indeed stay back in Mumbai," he added.

However, it is yet to be established whether the promising all-rounder was made to under-perform in the game, a clear indicator of match-fixing. Also, no other West Indies player is reported to have been involved.

India had beaten the West Indies by 14 runs in the Nagpur ODI in the first of the four-match One-Day series, which India later won 3-1.

The letter was sent to BCCI Vice-President from the West Zone, Shashank Manohar, by the Nagpur police. However, Manohar told CNN-IBN that the BCCI hasn't received any such letter from Nagpur police.

Manohar added that the BCCI had nothing to do with the report, and it was up to the International Cricket Council to look into the matter.

The Vidarbha Cricket Association received the match-fixing letter against Marlon Samuels, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla later confirmed. The letter will be forwarded to the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Shukla also added that Indian cricketers were not involved in the matter.

"I think Nagpur police will take strongest possible action. As per ICC guidelines it is violation of the Code of Conduct," Shukla added.

Meanwhile, ICC's spokesperson has refused to comment on the matter. Cricket's governing body has received complaints and the details are with anti-corruption unit.

With the World Cup to be played in the Caribbean from March 13, the West Indies Cricket Board could be severely jolted with the latest developments.

In past, former Australian players Shane Warne and Mark Waugh were penalised for leaking information to an Indian bookmaker in 1994.

Further instances of match-fixing came up more noticeably in 2000, when late South Africa captain Hansie Cronje had accepted to have taken money from Indian bookies and asked his team to under-perform in an ODI series in India.

(With inputs from Piyush Pushpak in Nagpur, Nishant Arora in New Delhi and Ehtesham Shahid in Dubai)