KPL betting: Police probe to decide fate of tournament

Bengaluru, Nov 21: The fate of Karnataka Premier League (KPL), an annual intra-state T20 cricket league, will depend on the final police investigation report, said Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) treasurer Vinay Mruthyunjaya on Thursday.

"We don't know. There is still time, let the final report of the police investigation come. Till the completion of the investigation, we will definitely not conduct KPL," Mruthyunjaya told IANS casting doubts on the very survival of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru Police has served a notice to KSCA demanding extensive information on KPL in light of major controversies engulfing the league.

"Police asked for a lot of information pertaining to KPL tournament, teams, scorecards, video footage of all the matches, details of all the players, phone numbers," Mruthyunjaya said.

The KSCA treasurer said the state cricket authorities and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not get an inkling of the brewing betting, honeytraps, bookie funded foreign holidays and spot-fixing scandals plaguing the KPL.

"We will check up, we did not have any formidable information in this regard. Let me discuss with our officers also," said Mruthyunjaya on allegations that the intra-state league cricketers are making more money via spot-fixing than the official match fees.

According to Mruthyunjaya, KSCA has nothing to do with the cheer girls suspected to be involved in honeytrapping some cricketers.

"We would not know, police would be knowing. KSCA never employs the cheer girls, the teams employ the cheer girls," added Mruthyunjaya.

Sandeep Patil, joint commissioner of central crime branch heading the KPL betting investigation, declined to confirm to IANS if any of the girls involved in the honeytrap were identified.

"I cannot tell anything right now, once the things are clear, I will let you know," Patil said.

The KSCA runs the KPL every year on the lines of the popular Indian Premier League (IPL).

Started in 2008, KPL is functioning as a feeder tournament to IPL, emerging as a leading local franchise-based league with BCCI approval. KPL also provides a platform to tap the Kannada hinterland cricket talent. As many as 16 KPL players featured in the IPL.

The KPL tournament for 2019 was held from August 16-31.