The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police, on Monday, arrested veteran cricketer Mehboob Alam and emerging star Mohammad Aadil Alam (Aadil Ansari), on charges of their involvement in spot-fixing at the controversy-hit Nepal Twenty20 League.

The first-ever franchise league organised by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN)—which was held between December 24, 2022 and January 11, 2023—was dragged into deep trouble following revelations of spot-fixing, match-fixing and over non-payment to players by their team owners.

The country’s cricket governing body had leased the event to a little-known Indian sports management company, Seven3Sports, for eight years as commercial and strategic partner, which was also one of the key suspects in the fixing scandal.

The apex sports authority of the country, the National Sports Council (NSC), and the CIB were forced to investigate the fixing allegations after former national captain Gyanendra Malla and one of the official match commentators, Sachin Timelsena, revealed suspicious activities in the tournament.

Apart from the NSC and the CIB, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is also undertaking a separate investigation. The CIB had formed a six-member probe committee under the coordination of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sundar Tiwari.

The CIB on Monday confirmed that they have arrested former Nepali international Mehboob Alam and member of the current squad Aadil Alam in connection with spot-fixing. Mehboob was arrested from Biratnagar and Aadil from Rajbiraj.

A high-level CIB source, who did not want to be identified, said that Seven3Sports managing director Jatin Ahluwalia was the alleged mastermind of the scandal.

The CIB source said the duo had operated as per instructions from Ahluwalia, who fled Nepal in the middle of the tournament after rumours of match- and spot-fixing started floating.

Malla, also the skipper of Kathmandu Knights in the tournament, on January 3, revealed that one of his team members had got a match-fixing proposal and they had promptly reported it to the Anti-Corruption Unit of the ICC.

On the same day, commentator Timalsena revealed through his Facebook post that he had spotted suspicious activities while working as a commentator and watching the games closely. He also said that he was quitting cricket commentary. Ahuliwala was reported to have fled Nepal a day after such revelations. He is not in contact with any CAN officials.

“Their attempts at match-fixing [manipulating the results of match] could not materialise after we started the investigation following the Home Ministry’s letter to us on January 3. However, there was evidence of spot-fixing [manipulating certain balls],” said the CIB source.

All-rounder Aadil Alam, also known as Aadil Ansari, was also a member of Janakpur Royals in the Nepal T20 and featured in eight of the 12 matches Janakpur played in the tournament.

The 19-year-old made his One-Day International (ODI) debut against the USA during the ICC World Cup League 2 match in US on June 11 and has featured in six ODIs and five Twenty20 International matches.

He left his mark in the very first ODI game, scoring a 24-ball 36 and claiming three wickets. His bowling earned much praise in his debut ODI after he conceded only five runs in the last over when the USA required six runs for victory.

Mehboob Alam is one among very few players to have set a rare record of bowling all 10 opponent batters in a single match when he achieved the feat against Mozambique during 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five. He gave away only 12 runs in his 7.5-over spell.

The 41-year-old Mehboob, even though was not part of any team in the Nepal T20, is alleged to have played a role in bringing players in contact with Ahluwalia. He played 17 years in the national jersey after making his debut against Japan in the ACC Trophy in 2000. His last match was on March 13, 2017 when he took the field against Kenya in the World Cricket League Championship.