Former wicketkeeper-batter Shreevats Goswami, who was a part of the victorious 2008 Under-19 World Cup-winning team under Virat Kohli, on Thursday, shared two shocking videos on his social media page to allege match-fixing in the Cricket Association of Bengal's (CAB) first division league.
The videos, posted on Goswami's Facebook page, were from the match between Mohammedan Sporting and Town Club. The former cricketer claimed that the Mohammedan Sporting batters intentionally threw away their wickets to concede seven points to their opponents, which is associated with former Indian cricket team manager Debabrata Das, the incumbent CAB secretary. Das was the Indian team's administrative manager during the tour of England in 2022.
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In the first video, the right-handed batter is seen leaving the delivery that crashed into the off stump, while in the second video, the left-handed batter shimmied down the track against a wider delivery to be stumped.
“This is a Super Division match in Kolkata Club Cricket, two big teams doing this, any idea what’s going on here? I am ashamed to see this having played the game which is so close to my heart. I love cricket and I love playing in Bengal but looking at this breaks my heart. Club cricket is heart and soul of Bengal cricket please don’t ruin it. I think this is called ‘got up’ cricket. Where is the media now?” Goswami posted.
{{/usCountry}}“This is a Super Division match in Kolkata Club Cricket, two big teams doing this, any idea what’s going on here? I am ashamed to see this having played the game which is so close to my heart. I love cricket and I love playing in Bengal but looking at this breaks my heart. Club cricket is heart and soul of Bengal cricket please don’t ruin it. I think this is called ‘got up’ cricket. Where is the media now?” Goswami posted.
{{/usCountry}}Das did not make any comment on the allegations yet, but CAB president Snehasish Ganguly has asked for a report from the umpires.
"We have called a tournament committee meeting on March 2 to take up the matter," Ganguly said.
The three-day contest at the 22 Yards Academy in Salt Lake ended on Wednesday with Town Club claiming seven points. Shakib Habib Gandhi’s sensational knock of 223 helped Town Club amass a score of 446. In reply, Mohammaden Sporting were restricted to 281/9 with Joyjit Basu emerging as the top-scorer with his century knock. Sporting collapsed after Basu’s departure.