New Delhi: Corruption seems to have sowed itself so deep in the core of Indians that a top International Cricket Council official claims that most of the bookies indulging in corrupt practices have continuously turned out to be Indian during the course of its several investigations.
The ICC has been carrying out investigations on deep rooted corruption in Sri Lankan cricket but amid that, its Anti Corruption Unit official Alex Marshall revealed an alarming fact: most of the bookies indulging in corrupt practices are Indians.
“In Sri Lanka it was both local and Indian corruptors. In most other parts of the world it is mostly corrupt Indian bookies, during the briefing (to England and Sri Lanka players), we showed names and pictures of active corruptors in cricket who were trying to get at players both in Sri Lanka and at tournaments elsewhere in the world.” -Alex Marshall
Earlier this week legendry Sri Lankan left hand batsman Sanath Jayasuriya was charged for violating ICC’s anti-corruption code, even though he was not charged with any kind of fixing.
Recently ICC’s ACU disclosed information about active corruptors with England and Sri Lankan cricketers, currently involved in a limited over series.
Marshall’s statement is not a surprise given that Indian bookies were at the center of attraction during the 2000 match-fixing scandal that shook the core of the game.
“During the briefing (to England and Sri Lanka players), we showed names and pictures of active corruptors in cricket who were trying to get at players both in Sri Lanka and at tournaments elsewhere in the world. This way we felt the players are better informed. The exercise has already lead to new information coming forward from the teams. We showed them six. The pictures shown were all men, but there are a couple of women, too, involved in the whole picture.” -Alex Marshall