IPL 2017: Betting racket busted in Kanpur, three bookies arrested from team hotel

The league might have entered its tenth edition, but the cloud of betting refuses to go away from the IPL. A day after the Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils encounter at Kanpur, police have arrested three bookies, who were operating from the Landmark Hotel, the same one in which the two teams were staying.

Sources close to Sportskeeda informed that in a surprise raid done late at night, the police managed to nab Mumbai mastermind Ramesh Shah, as well as three other bookies. According to police, Shah’s network extends to all the major stadiums in India, from where he gets crucial information regarding the nature of pitches.

Along with Shah, the other two captured go by the name of Vikas Chauhan, a resident of Pukhrayan, a town in Kanpur Dehat, as well as Ramesh, who hails from Chunniganj. Ramesh used to work as a labourer inside the stadium, and reportedly sent crucial information about the nature of the pitch to Shah.  

Police are also likely to question two Gujarat Lions players who were allegedly named by the suspected bookies.

This is not the first time that such an incident has happened in Kanpur. In 2013, just before the IPL finals between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, a betting racket was busted and eight people were arrested for placing money on IPL matches. A total of Rs. 8 Lakh in cash, along with two laptops, 18 mobiles and a car were procured by the police.

More recently, during the India-England T20 series in January this year, four bookies were arrested in Indore for accepting bets on the T20 game held in Kanpur. A total of 22 mobile phones, as well as Rs. 2 Lakhs in cash, along with gambling slips were seized from those accused.

The BCCI Anti-Corruption Bureau were keeping an eye on the bookies for three days, and wanted to catch them red-handed. On the 17th floor of the hotel, two people were taken into custody from room 1733, where three mobile phones, a diary and Rs.40 Lakh were seized in cash.

On the field, the Delhi Daredevils managed to surpass Gujarat Lions’s steep target of 196, courtesy a gritty knock from youngster Shreyas Iyer, who managed to steer his side to a win but fell agonisingly short of a century. Both Gujarat and Delhi have already been knocked out of IPL 2017, and sit in the bottom half of the points table.