Former South Africa Cricket Gulam Bodi Pleads 'Guilty' To Match-Fixing

Former South Africa cricketer Gulam Bodi, on Saturday, became the first sportsperson from his country to be criminally convicted of match-fixing.

According to Netwerk24, Bodi appeared in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court on Friday. He went on to plead guilty to eight charges of corruption.

In December 2015, Bodi was charged with several counts of breaching the anti-corruption code. In January 2016, Cricket South Africa had banned Gulam Bodi for 20 years from participating in any international or domestic match. The board has also banned him from featuring in any cricket activity other than anti-corruption programs after he admitted to contriving or attempting to fix matches during the 2015 Ram Slam T20 series.

Bodi was guilty of being the link between bookies and domestic players during the competition. The opening batsman had offered the players “rewards” for certain outcomes. He was not the only player to be punished by the Cricket South Africa. Six players – Ethy Mbhalati, Alviro Petersen, Thami Tsolekile, Jean Symes, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Pume Matshikwe – were also involved in the scandal and received punishment.

The report further claimed that Bodi begged the court for forgiveness.

“The accused pleads to the mercy of the court. He fully understands the seriousness of his offences and begs the state for forgiveness,” the website quoted the former opening batsman as saying in a written statement.

The case, meanwhile, has been postponed until next year. But it is highly likely that Bodi could face jail time. Bodi represented South Africa in 2 One-Day Internationals and 1 T20I, scoring close to 100 runs with the help of one fifty. He also played over hundred first-class games and more than hundred List A games.  The left-handed batsman scored over 9,000 runs in first-class and List A games.