TNCA investigation committee likely to give clean chit to players and teams in fixing probe

The 2019 edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League was rocked by allegations of corruption when reports emerged that bookies had allegedly taken control of a team and also approached players to fix matches. To have a fair report on the issue, TNCA set up a panel, comprising former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, retired former Commissioner of Police of Chennai Nanjil Kumaran and senior advocate P Raghu Raman, but they didn’t find any conclusive evidence to prove that any malpractice during the tournament held in July and August.

“The committee has spoken to five-six players, taken note of the various messages the players received through Whatsapp and social media, interviewed coaches and team owners. They did a thorough investigation over the last 10 days but couldn’t find any conclusive evidence to prove any corruption charges,” a source close to the developments told TOI on Friday.

After finishing their investigation, the committee had also shared the details with the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) chief Ajit Singh, who is conducting an independent probe into the matter, apart from going through video footage of matches under the scanner. Singh has found a very distinct evidence of a voice clip, in which two bookies are conversing about a certain game.

“But that too remained inconclusive as they had gone through all the footage available and couldn’t find anything suspicious. They also minutely probed all the allegations and reports sent to them by Singh. However, they couldn’t find any links between bookies and players and coaches and team owners,” the source said.

“The BCCI ACU has been extremely vigilant. But the committee has also found ways on how necessary steps can be taken to prevent such scenarios. So they will share their views when they submit the report on Monday,” the source said.