Mumbai-based cricket bookie Shobhan Mehta is alleged to have told the Ahmedabad crime branch police he had been getting “tips” about matches from leading Indian and overseas cricket players.
The players named are former Indian captains Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia, the former South African captain, Hansie Cronje, who died in a plane crash, and Australian batsman Mark Waugh.
Mehta also had links with the alleged Australian bookie Mark Peter and England bookie code-named Black 0365. His betting network ran far and wide into cricket playing nations such as Pakistan, Australia and England, besides major cities and other international match-hosting centres in India.
The former diamond merchant has been in the illegal betting racket since 1992. He said he used to regularly visit the dressing room of the players before or during a match and collect “tips” on toss, the pitch report, weather conditions, team strategy, composition of the teams, fitness of key players and such other “vital factors affecting the outcome of a match” for betting through his nationwide syndicate.
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