KPL's Future In Doubt As Police Investigate Match-Fixing Scandal
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In the wake of the match-fixing scandal, the fate of Karnataka Premier League (KPL) is fixing by a fine thread now. The fate of the competition now will depend on the final investigation report, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) treasurer, Vinay Mruthyunjaya, said on Thursday. The league was started by KSCA in August 2009 and modelled after the Indian Premier League (IPL).

In the last couple of months, there have been some high profile arrests related to the case.  Earlier, police arrested KPL Bellary team captain CM Gautam and Abrar Kazi. It is alleged that both cricketers were involved in spot-fixing during KPL 2019 finals between Hubli and Bellary. Gautam is a big name in domestic circuit, having played in IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians.

Apart from these two players, a number of other cricketers were questioned too during the investigation.  The players have been asked to cooperate with the police as the officials look to find the root of the entire scandal. Earlier, cricketer Nishanth Singh Shekhawat was also arrested by the Karnataka police in connection with the KPL spot-fixing case.

Shekawat was accused of fixing a KPL match in 2018 between Bangalore and Belgavi team, in which he allegedly played slow and received Rs 5 lakhs for the same. The police had also arrested Belgavi Panthers team’s owner Ali, Bengaluru Blasters bowling coach Vinu Prasad and batsman Vishwanathan. Ali had allegedly placed bets with a bookie based in Dubai and was in touch with players of other teams during the league.

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Future of tournament in doubt:

Meanwhile, Vinay Mruthyunjaya said that the association is not sure about the future of the competition. He made it clear that a final decision could be taken only after the police conclude the investigation.

“We don’t know. There is still time, let the final report of the police investigation come. Till the completion of the investigation, we will definitely not conduct KPL,” Mruthyunjaya told IANS.

It should be noted that the Bengaluru Police has served a notice to KSCA demanding extensive information on KPL. Mruthyunjaya confirmed the development and also insisted that the authorities had no clue about fixing.