Rajasthan Royals player approached for spot-fixing

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur says player's action shows Board's efforts to educate players over perils of spot-fixing are paying off

A Mumbai-based Rajasthan Royals player was approached with an offer of money for spot-fixing last month, clearly showing that attempts to fix matches is still prevalent in the controversy-laden Indian Premier League.

Confirming that a cricketer was indeed approached, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said the player's action showed that the Board's efforts to educate players over perils of spot-fixing are paying off.

"A player was approached and he immediately intimated @BCCI anti corruption unit. Glad that BCCI education policy showing positive results" Thakur tweeted today.

His post added: "Players are alert & they know what is to be done due to our regular education efforts."

Though Thakur did not reveal the identity of the player, Rajasthan Royals has five cricketers from Mumbai -- Ajinkya Rahane, Pravin Tambe, Dinesh Salunkhe, Dhawal Kulkarni and Abhishek Nayar.

According to a report, a Mumbai-based Rajasthan Royals player was approached by his Ranji teammate with an offer of money if he followed a pre-decided pattern of play. Initially dismissing it as a joke, the player declined the offer and reported the incident to the BCCI's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).

The latest incident brings back the memories of the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal which led to the arrests of three Rajasthan Royals cricketers including former India fast bowler S Sreesanth.

The spot-fixing saga also forced N Srinivasan to step down as BCCI president after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was found guilty of betting.