CM Gautam, Abrar Kazi arrested on KPL spot-fixing charges

The Central Crime Branch Bangalore has arrested two top domestic cricketers for their alleged involvement in the Karnataka Premier League fixing scandal.

Published : Nov 07, 2019 09:43 IST , Bengaluru/Mumbai

Ballari Tuskers' CM Gautam plays a shot during a match in Karnataka Premier League.
Ballari Tuskers' CM Gautam plays a shot during a match in Karnataka Premier League.
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Ballari Tuskers' CM Gautam plays a shot during a match in Karnataka Premier League.

In a major development, the Central Crime Branch Bangalore arrested two top domestic cricketers — C.M. Gautam and Abrar Kazi — for their alleged involvement in the Karnataka Premier League fixing scandal.

Both the players featured for the Bellary Tuskers outfit. While Gautam, a seasoned Karnataka cricketer who shifted to Goa this season, captained the side, Kazi, who now plays for Mizoram, too is a seasoned campaigner.

CCB sources claim that they were paid "Rs 20 lakhs for batting slow" in the final between Hubli and Bellary. Further investigations are on and more arrests are likely to happen.

BCCI ACU: Players approached by suspicious persons in KPL too

Gautam has played in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils. Both of them were named in their state squads for the Syed Myshtaq Ali T20, which begins on Friday.

Sources in the Mizoram team told Sportstar that Kazi was with the team until recently before he headed back to Bengaluru a few days ago. "We have no clue about the arrest. We are waiting to hear from the police or the association," a team source said.

Last season, Kazi played for Nagaland. This year, he moved to Mizoram.

Earlier this week, another KPL player Nishant Singh Shekhawat, was arrested. Shekhawat has been accused of helping bookies reach out to players and coaching staff of teams to get them involved in illegal betting.

These arrests come after the arrests of the bowling coach of the Bengaluru Blasters team Vinu Prasad and a batsman M Vishwanathan on account of cheating and conspiracy.

In September, the owner of Karnataka Premier League team Belagavi Panthers, Ashfaq Ali Thara, was arrested in connection with an alleged international cricket betting scandal.

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