The news had been doing the rounds for some days that a former South African cricketer might be involved in a match-fixing scandal at the domestic T20 tournament, Ram Slam T20 challenge, and on Thursday the name has been made public.
Gulam Bodi it is, who has been named as the player charged by Cricket South Africa (CSA) for being the “intermediary” in a fixing scam during the recent Ram Slam reported the Telegraph. Indian-born Bodi, who played two ODIs and a T20 for South Africa in 2007, has not played professional cricket for more than a year. “No, absolutely no comment. Sorry," Gulam Bodi said when contacted by Netwerk24.
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CSA had earlier made an announcement without revealing the identity of the individual. "The intermediary has been charged with contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence, aspects of the 2015 Twenty20 Challenge Series and with failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to co-operate with an investigation carried out by CSA's designated Anti-Corruption Official," CSA said in a statement. police has been informed about the incident but there is no news of formal investigation till now.
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"The provisional suspension means that the intermediary may not be involved in any capacity in any match or any other kind of function ... recognised or supported in any way by CSA, the ICC, a National Cricket Federation or any member of a National Cricket Federation," CSA added. "As is the standard practice with the ICC, neither CSA nor the ICC will make any further comment in respect of on-going investigations."
Bodi, an all-rounder, who used to bowl spin and bat left-handed emigrated to South Africa as a teenager and represented them at U-19s level. At one stage he kept Kevin Pietersen out of the KwaZulu Natal team, a decision that led to him moving to England. Bodi retired last year but is provisionally suspended from all cricket activities.
