The office of the District Attorney Office Kathmandu on Monday filed a case against five Nepalis, including three cricketers, at the Kathmandu District Court on charge of spot-fixing during Nepal T20 League held from December 24, 2022 to January 11, 2023.

Veteran cricketer Mehboob Alam, emerging star Mohammad Aadil Alam (Aadil Ansari) and Nitesh Gupta (Nitesh Shah) are among the three players who have been charged by the Attorney Office. The Attorney office has demanded three-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs50,000. The three are already arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police.

Aadil Ansari played for Janakpur Royals in the Nepal T20 and featured in eight of the 12 matches his side played in the tournament. Nitesh Shah plays domestic games in Birgunj.

The Attorney Office has demanded the same action against Nabin Kandel and Rabi Majhi, who are at large, and also appealed to the court for an arrest warrant.

The CIB has opened an investigation after allegations of match-fixing and spot-fixing during Nepal T20, the first ever franchise league organised by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). The cricket governing body of the country had leased the event to Indian company Seven3Sports as strategic and commercial partner for eight years without following legal procedure of the country.

The Attorney Office has said it will also file further charge-sheet against Seven3Sports managing director Jatin Ahluwalia, chief executive Abhishek Saklani and other Indian nationals Samir Sheikh, Birendra Shah, Bikash Dhyani, Biratnagar Super Kings owner Rahul Sharma and captain Andre McCarthy of Jamaica if they get arrested in Nepal in future or if their address is revealed.

The CIB has also suspected that Seven3Sports might have come to Nepal with the view to get illegal benefit via spot-fixing and online betting and the Attorney Office would file an additional charge sheet if other players’ involvement is found in the fixing.

Mehboob Alam attributes spot-fixing approach

Mehboob Alam has given a statement to CIB that he had proposed Mohammad Aadil Alam (Aadil Ansari) and Aarif Sheikh for spot-fixing.

In the statement recorded by CIB, Mehboob said that he proposed the cricketers for fixing after his neighbour Rabi Majhi asked him to. Majhi had offered Rs600,000 each if the players obeyed their instructions and got out for less than five runs in batting or conceded more than 10 runs per over to the opponents.

Sheikh did not give a prompt response to the offer. “I was supposed to take from Rs200,000 up to Rs600,000 had they accepted the offer. The amount was not dispatched as they did not accept the offer and I did not approach any other player for spot-fixing,” Mehboob had said in the statement.

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 the 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five. He gave away only 12 runs in his 7.5-over spell.

Meanwhile, Aadil Ansari in the statement has ruled out his involvement in spot-fixing. “An Indian national named Samir Sheikh had approached me for fixing via Whatsapp but I rejected it. He had asked me to throw a no ball and a wide and offered me Rs100,000. But I asked him not to talk about such things,” he had said in the statement.

He also claimed that he had promptly informed about the fixing approach to CAN’s cricket manager Binod Das.

He claimed that he hurled a wide and a no ball accidentally during the match against Kathmandu Knights on December 27 in the League but he ruled out that he bowled as per instruction of the Indian national.