The scourge of spot-fixing has raised its ugly head once again. The ICC Anti-Corruption General Manager, Alex Marshall, has informed that in the past one year five captains have been approached by bookies, according to the Times of India.

The previous one year saw many news outlets carrying out sting operations to expose the corruption prevalent in the different organs of the gentleman game.

Corruption entrenched in the system

An Indian news channel ‘India Today’ carried out a sting operation just before the start of the New Zealand Vs. India ODI at Pune and showed how Pune curator Pandurang Salgaonkar shared sensitive information about the pitch.

Though the investigation did not reveal much, the ICC penalized the curator with a one-year ban for failing to inform the Anti-Corruption arm of the ICC about the approach.

The massive success of IPL and T20 Cricket has given enormous opportunities for the bookies to carry out their business clandestinely. The Anti Corruption wing of the ICC has carried out more than 30 investigations involving eight players in the last one year alone, according to The Indian Express.

T20 and IPL to blame

The advent of T20 cricket had increased the number of matches and today more and more nations are being accorded different levels of status in playing cricket by the ICC.

The T20 magic has popularized cricket in many countries which is a perfect thing to happen for the benefit of cricket. However, it has also given opportunities for bookies to carry out their illegal activities.

Bookies can organize their league!!!

Marshall also made a startling revelation that if the corruptors in the game are not able to influence the regular matches under the aegis of ICC, they are resourceful enough to bring their T20 matches to get their evil designs through.

One such tournament mentioned by Marshall was 2016 Masters Champions League. The league attracted many players around the world including some big names like Kumara Sangakkara and Virender Sehwag.

Eighteen years ago the world of cricket was shamed by the infamous Hansie Cronje scandal. Much water has flown since then, and numerous measures have been taken to preempt any such incidents in the future.

However, the incidence of spot-fixing has only increased, and it has made a massive dent in the credibility of this Gentleman’s game.

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