No KPL matches till betting probe is completed

Bengaluru : The next edition of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) would not be held till the investigation into the multi-crore betting scam is completed by the police, an official said on Thursday.

"We will definitely not conduct the KPL tournament matches till the investigation is completed and the final report from the police comes out," Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Treasurer Vinay Mruthyunjaya told IANS here.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru police has served a notice on the cricket association seeking extensive information on the T20 tournament in the light of major controversies engulfing the league.

"The police asked for a lot of information pertaining to KPL tournament, teams, scorecards, video footage of all the matches, details of all the players, phone numbers," Mruthyunjaya said.

The KSCA treasurer has claimed that neither the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) nor the state association had any inkling of the betting, honeytraps, bookie- funded foreign holidays and spot-fixing scandals plaguing the BCCI approved local T20 league.

"We will check up, we did not have any formidable information in this regard. Let me discuss with our officers also," Mruthyunjaya said regarding allegations that the intra-state league cricketers are making more money via spot-fixing than the official match fees.

According to Mruthyunjaya, KSCA has nothing to do with the cheer girls suspected to be involved in honeytrapping some cricketers.

"We would not know, police would be knowing. KSCA never employs cheer girls, the teams employ the cheer girls," added Mruthyunjaya.

Sandeep Patil, joint commissioner of central crime branch heading the KPL betting investigation, declined to confirm to IANS if any of the girls involved in the honeytrapping have been identified.