Mumbai, October 9: Every once in a while, with depressing frequency, the cricket world is jolted by allegations of match-fixing. But so far, these had only involved players.
On Monday, though, private news channel unveiled a sting operation, conducted in July and August, which seems to reveal that umpires, who are supposed to protect the laws of the game, may themselves be up for sale.
The channel's sting allegedly caught six umpires from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on camera 'agreeing' to give decisions on demand.
The umpires named in the sting operation are Nadeem Ghauri and Anees Siddiqui of Pakistan, Nadir Shah of Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka's Gamini Dissanayake, Maurice Winston and Sagara Gallage.
TOI could not independently ascertain the veracity of the channel's claims. Ghauri and Shah have already denied the allegations, with Shah terming them "absolutely rubbish".
The International Cricket Council has launched an investigation into the allegations made by the channel.
The ICC, in a release on Monday, said, "The ICC and its relevant members have been made aware of the allegations made by the news channel this evening and calls on the station to turnover any information which can assist the ICC's urgent investigations into this matter.
The ICC re-iterates its zero-tolerance towards corruption whether alleged against players or officials. The ICC confirms that none of the umpires named were involved in any of the official games of the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. The ICC will not make any further comment on this issue."
In the sting operation, the reporters said they belonged to a sports management company and promised the umpires assignments in different events around the world, largely domestic Twenty20 leagues.
While Ghauri and Shah appeared to agree to give wrong decisions, Gallage was ready to pass on information about the toss, the pitch and weather conditions in a match before it was available to the public.
In May, the same television channel's sting operation prompted the Indian cricket board to ban one uncapped cricketer for life and hand out lesser punishments to four others for involvement in corruption in domestic cricket.
Last year, Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed in Britain following a sting operation for their role in a spot-fixing scandal relating to a test match against England at Lord's in August 2010.
Amongst the officials caught in the operation, only Shah and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid represent the current panel of the ICC. The channel, however, claimed that Sharfudoullah refused to give any favours.
The expose seemed to show Sri Lankan umpire Gallage agreeing to leak information on the pitch, weather, toss, and even the playing elevens of India and Pakistan ahead of their World T20 warm-up match for Rs 50,000.
Gallage, who was the fourth umpire in the game, went to the extent of guaranteeing support for a 'particular player' in case of any disciplinary action, the footage showed.
He also promised not to dock the player of his match fee should he be pulled up for slow over-rate. Dissanayake was shown as claiming that "by providing liquor to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials, one can get any work done."
A stunned SLC chairman Nishantha Ranatunga told TOI that the board would take action as soon as the ICC probe into the matter was over. "The SLC has zero tolerance level against doping and corrupt activities.
We are waiting for the ICC to launch an investigation into this and once the probe is over, we'll take necessary action. Having said that, we have the highest confidence in our match officials," Ranatunga said.
Ghauri, a former ICC umpire from Pakistan, appeared to promise to 'do anything' for a payment. Ghauri has officiated in 43 ODIs and 14 Tests and his last international game came in November 2010.
The channel claimed Ghauri's countryman Siddiqui also was ready to get a decision in favour of India for money. 'Anees promised that he would manage the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to accept a decision favourable to India,' the channel said.
Officials from the cricket boards of Bangladesh and Pakistan could not be reached for comment.
The dialogue between the umpires and the reporters
NADEEM GHAURI
Reporter: Achha achha maan lijiye jaise LBW hai (OK, take for example, LBW)
Nadeem: Haan ji (Yes)
R: Leg before wicket
N: Haan (Yes)
R: Isme, uska khiladi ka favour ho sakta hai? (Here, can that player be favoured?)
N: Haan, bilkul bilkul. (Yes, certainly, certainly)
R: To yeh favour kar denge aap? (So, will you carry out this favour?)
N: Haan, bilkul yeh ho sakta hai. (Yes, this can certainly be done.)
R: Haan toh isi tareeke ke, jaise maan lijiye bahut close nick hota hai bat se, caught behind the wicket hota hai. (So, in the same fashion, imagine a very close nick. It can be a caught behind)
N: Haan yeh bhi theek hai, kyonki wahaan jakar jo meeting hoti hai usme yeh dekhna padega ki Snickometer toh nahi hai ya Hawkeye to nahi hai. (Yes, this is also OK, because there is a meeting to ascertain whether it is a Snickometer or Hawkeye)
NADIR SHAH
Reporter: Sir, fixing toh BPL mein bhi bahut hua hai. (Sir, there has also been a lot of fixing in the BPL)
Nadir: Haan hua, do aadmi ko pakda. Kaun kiya fixing maloom hai, woh naam bataya Jamshed, woh left handed opener. (Yes, there was. They even caught two men. We know who carried out the fixing. Jamshed, that left-handed opener.)
R: Jamshed?
N: Woh teen run-out kar diya, Jamshed jo India ka saath century kiya na. (The same one who did three run-outs, Jamshed scored a century against India, no?)
R: Nasir Jamshed, Pakistani opener?
N: Haan. (Yes.)
R: Lekin Pakistan ne usko ban kyon nahi kiya Nasir Jamshed ko? (But why didn't Pakistan ban him, that Nasir Jamshed?)
N: Pakistan ne nahi kiya because the information was later on didn't pass. (Pakistan did not because the information was not passed on.) They had the proof, they manage down the carpet. Because that will have a bad name on BPL and Bangladesh Cricket Board, which we cannot afford
R: Hamare player ko jo favour mil sakta hai SLPL mein aapse, woh kin kin cheezon mein mil sakta hai? (What are the kinds of favour our player can get from you during the SLPL?)
N: LBW
SAGARA GALLAGE
Sagara: Three things I can do it. I can do the pitch report at least one and a half before the start the match.
Reporter: OK! You can give me pitch report half an hour before the match start. You are talking about the SLPL final.
S: That's true, tomorrow.
R: OK! Tomorrow, Ya second
S: Second one is the team, playing eleven, before 35 minutes of the match start.
R: What about the third thing?
S: Third thing is toss. Who won the toss, who is fielding, who is batting. I will inform because we show in the TV at the last moment of the start of the match but I can tell you about 25 minutes before the start
A STRING OF STINGS
No. 1: Bangladesh umpire Nadir Shah told the India TV undercover reporter that he was ready to fix any match - whether international, county or league matches. Nadir Shah offered to give decisions like "out", "not out" in any format of the game. He has officiated in 40-plus one-day internationals, six test matches as TV umpire and three tests as reserve umpire. Nadir Shah also revealed on hidden camera that Pakistan's opening batsman Nasir Jamshed 'fixed' several matches during the Bangladesh Premier League. He also said, umpires from Bangladesh are always ready to 'help' their country's cricketers.
No. 2: Sri Lankan premier panel umpire Sagara Gallage was the fourth umpire at the crucial India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match on Sept 17. For a payment of Rs 50,000, Sagara agreed to reveal the match pitch report, weather report, toss report, and even the playing elevens of both teams. Gallage promised to give Pak batsman Imran Nazir out, even if he was not out, in exchange of money in Sri Lankan Premier League. Gallage even promised the undercover reporter to get a decision made in favour of India in course of the match by 'managing' the match referee and other officials.
No. 3: Pakistan's ICC international panel umpire Nadeem Ghauri also agreed to help Team India in all manners. As quid pro quo, he agreed to take all amounts underhand in "black". He promised to do any kind of favour for any player in umpiring.
No. 4: Sri Lankan's premier panel umpire Maurice Winston Dela Zilwa's name was recommended by another Sri Lankan umpire Sagara Gallage to the India TV undercover reporter. For the crucial T20 world cup match on Sept 17 between Australia and England, Maurice Winston shared the pitch report, toss report and playing elevens of both teams and demanded Rs 50,000 bribe. He agreed to take the entire amount in 'black'.
No. 5: Sri Lankan umpire Gamini Dissanayake went a step ahead. On camera, he promised to 'revolt' against Sri Lankan cricket if given a handsome amount. Gamini told the undercover India TV reporter that by providing liquor and picnic to Sri Lankan Cricket Board officials, one can get any work done. Gamini's name was mentioned by Maurice Winston.
No. 6: Pakistan's elite panel umpire Anees Siddiqui was also ready to get a decision in favour of Team India in lieu of money in black. Anees promised that he would manage the PCB to accept a decision favourable to India.
No. 7: Bangladesh ICC international panel umpire Sharfudoullah Ibne Shahid Saikat was also approached. He however refused to give any favour in exchange of money.
No. 8: Minhazuddin Khan, the media manager of Dhaka Gladiators revealed to India TV undercover reporter that Pakistan's player Azhar Mehmood had indulged in match-fixing during the Sri Lankan Premier League. He didn't come to play. Minhaz also revealed that Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved and Ahmed Shahzad regularly used to take call girls to their rooms straight from aftermatch parties. Minhaz also revealed that he and Bangladesh opened Tamil Iqbal often used to go to Dubai and Malaysia for holidays, and used to get money from Bangladesh through 'hawala'.
No. 9: Sandeep Bhammer, the promoter of Sri Lankan Premier League agreed to give sponsorships of all franchises in lieu of US$7,40,000.
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