Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground saw bookies intruding the matches during the recently postponed IPL 2021 by plugging an accredited cleaner to do the ‘pitch sliding’ which helps in ball-by-ball betting.
BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit chief Shabbir Hussain Shekhadam Khandwawala has revealed this fact.
The new modus operandi was observed during one of the IPL games at New Delhi where a designated cleaner was using the time lag between actual match action and live TV coverage to help in ball-by-ball betting, which is also known as court-siding or pitch siding.
Pitch-siding is the practice of transmitting information from sporting events for the purpose of gambling or directly placing bets.
"One of my ACU officers caught a person and handed over the details to Delhi Police. While that particular offender managed to flee leaving behind his two mobile phones, ACU lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police. We are thankful to Delhi Police that in a separate incident they caught two other persons from the Kotla on ACU tip-off,” Hussain, a former DG of Gujarat Police, told PTI.
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Further elaborating how the cleaner came onto the radar of the ACU, Hussain said, “He was standing (inside Feroz Shah Kotla premises) in a secluded area all by himself and so one of our officers approached and asked him 'What are you doing here?' 'He said:'Main apne girlfriend se baat kar raha hoon. (I am talking to my girlfriend).
My officer then asked him to dial the number he was talking to and then asked him to hand over the phones. Just when he was going through the contents of his phone, the guy fled from the spot.”
He was wearing the IPL accreditation card which all the class IV staff are given during the tournament from bus drivers, to cleaners, porters, etc.
"The information he may be supplying could be to someone more influential among bookmakers and so we needed to inform the Delhi Police. Delhi Police has responded positively and thus next instance two people were arrested," he added.
Hussain also confirmed that the ACU didn't receive any complaint of corrupt approaches being made to players or support staff involved in IPL during the 29 games that were held.
(PTI inputs)
