Cricketer Brendan Taylor’s confession puts focus on Indian bookies, dirty money and lack of a law

Ravinder Dandiwal was arrested in July 2020 and charged under the Indian Penal Code’s (IPC”s) Section 420 that penalises cheating. He was out on bail 10 days later. Dhandiwall organised a fake cricket league near Chandigarh. The league was published to take place in Sri Lanka but actually happened in a village near Mohali. Unknown players wearing Covid-19 masks posed as international cricketers. The Indian Express broke the story of the fake league and Punjab Police arrested Dhadiwale. In Australia, strict sports laws could have seen him face up to 10 years of prison time.

Brendan Taylor has sent a statement to his family and supporters.

Brendan Taylor's confession puts focus on Indian bookies. Sports betting is legal and licensed in the UK. In India, it's illegal and people placing bets are breaking the law. Sri Lankan law enacted in 2019 criminalises betting and gambling with the intention to corrupt a sport. There is a push in India for making match-fixing a criminal offence and legalising betting to weed out black money. The Lodha Committee recommended that spot- fixing be made a crime. It was recommended after the 2013 IPL spot fixing scandal. Nandan Kamath is the sports lawyer.

Brendan Taylor has confessed to using Indian bookies. He was offered $15,000 to go to India for a meeting with an Indian businessman. Heath Streak was caught up in a bookie-player nexus. Strek was banned for eight years for sharing team information with Indian gentleman. Zimbabwean players were not paid their match fees for months. Graeme Cremer was also offered to fix Test matches against the West Indies in 2017. Creer was paid $30,00. The businessman involved in the offer was on the radar of ICC anti-corruption unit.

Brendan Taylor’s confession puts focus on Indian bookies. ICC investigations have led to cricketers from the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman being banned for corruption. Indian-origin bookmakers are often the conspirators. Three Pakistani- origin Hongkong players were charged for underperforming during the 2014 World T20 Qualifiers. Two of them were in touch with a jeweller of Indian origin based in Hong kong.