Karnataka Premier League’s (KPL) auction and the tournament will be put on hold till police investigation of fixing scandal is completed. The next edition of KPL will be conducted after the investigation. Karnataka police have arrested 7 people (players & team officials) who are involved in the fixing scandal.
On Friday, KSCA treasurer Vinay Mruthyunjaya said, “All activities related to KPL will resume only after the investigation is completed, and we get the final report from the police, We don’t know how much time it will take for the investigation to be completed. But there are still nine months for the next edition to begin, so hopefully, it will be completed by then.”
The central crime branch of Karnataka police is ready with the special investigation team to investigate the case. Earlier, they arrested four cricketers, including former Karnataka cricketers CM Gautam and Abrar Kazi, and a coach and taken them into their custody.
Bhaskar Rao, the police commissioner of Bengaluru, said, “Today there are many non-playing cricketers involved [other] than those playing on the field, and it has become a business for them as they travel to Dubai, West Indies, and other foreign countries and stay at five-star hotels, They have also indulged in blackmailing of players through honey traps. The game has become insignificant and the activities of these betters have only increased.”
However, the Karnataka state cricket association has no knowledge about the recruitment procedure of the cheerleaders being used as honey traps they are hired by the franchises of KPL. As per IANS, police have also sent a notice to the Karnataka State Cricket Association(KSCA) and asked for additional information of day to day running league and players’ backgrounds.