Hyderabad look to shake off swirling fixing claims

The match-fixing controversy is refusing to die down with both the Delhi police and their Mumbai counterparts having filed chargesheets.

The match-fixing controversy is refusing to die down with both the Delhi police and their Mumbai counterparts having filed chargesheets. And reports suggest that four Sunrisers Hyderabad players have allegedly been named by an arrested bookie in connection with an attempt to fix an T20 match in April.

The bookie has been arrested by Mumbai police, who filed their chargesheet on Saturday.

The Shikhar Dhawan led-side refused to be bogged down by the reports and had an extended training session ahead of Tuesday’s opening group match against Trinidad and Tobago.

Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera, Hanuma Vihari, Karan Sharma and Ashish Reddy, the players named in the reports, were all at the practice session. The bookie, Chandresh Patel, recorded a statement with the Mumbai crime branch, alleging that he and his accomplices met Sunrisers players to fix the April 17 game against Pune Warriors. He claimed that an intermediary, Amir, demanded `6 crore for the deal.

Refusal to pay
But the bookies eventually refused to pay the full amount after Sunrisers went on to win.

At the press briefing, team coach Tom Moody said he was there “just to talk about cricket and tomorrow’s match”. A team official, on condition of anonymity, said: “We haven’t got any official word. Till that time there is nothing concrete to say.”