Two Coaches Under Scanner In TNPL Fixing Scandal

The spot-fixing menace has once again reared its ugly head in India and this time the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has run into troubled waters. While no big name has been involved in the matter thus far, a number of first-class cricketers and a couple of coaches have come under the BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit’s (ACU) scanner for suspected match-fixing.

BCCI’s ACU chief Ajit Singh has ruled out the possibility of any international player being a suspect. The TNPL, owned by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, started in 2016 and features eight franchises.

“Some players have reported that they received WhatsApp messages from certain unknown people. We are trying to find out who those people are. We have recorded the statements of the players and we will try to track the senders of the messages,” he told reporters in New Delhi.

“There is no international player…any player who has got the message, he is supposed to report it to us, it’s part of his obligation,” he added.

The BCCI officials or any other sources are yet to reveal any name. However, the match-fixing allegations are doing the round viciously.  The allegations are related to one particular mid-table franchise in the TNPL, which many believe has gained notoriety over the past couple of years.

“This franchise finished among the last three in the eight-team TNPL table. There are a lot of grey areas related to their ownership patterns. Their choice of players and coaches has also not been above board,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

A lesser known coach is also under scanner. The suspected coach was earlier involved with franchises with suspect dealings.

“Nothing can be ruled out. There is one coach, who was related with a tainted IPL franchise, later coached a Ranji team and was, for one season, related to a TNPL franchise that is under the scanner,” the BCCI source said.

The TNPL had earlier hit the headlines when former India cricketer VB Chandrasekhar committed suicide. Chandrasekhar owned the franchise Kanchi Veerans and was allegedly facing financial losses in the league.