Srini's son-in-law passed on betting information about other teams and players

THE IPL betting conspiracy involving Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of BCCI chief N Srinivasan, has spread to the whole tournament with a Mumbai Crime Branch Report stating that the Chennai Super Kings manager was passing on information to bookmakers about other teams and some of the world’s superstar players.

In an escalation of the crisis, there is evidence that Meiyappan discussed match results, innings totals for games not involving the Super Kings and the form of superstar players such as Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Dale Steyn and Siddharth Trivedi, who was carpeted for fixing.

The report also reveals that Meiyappan bet 1.4 crores on the Super Kings to lose against Rajasthan Royals on May 12 2013, a match which was called into question by the Mudgal Report into IPL corruption.

Meiyappan was found by the court-appointed committee to have indulged in betting and passing on information, as alleged, and has been proved to be the team official of Chennai Super Kings. The committee, led by Justice Mukul Mudgal, submitted its final report to the Supreme Court with the proviso that it was for the court to decide on any action to be taken.

But the Mumbai’s police report to Justice Mukul Mudgal shows that Meiyappan’s gambling activity extends beyond Chennai.

After lawfully recording conversations between Meiyappan and Vindoo Dara Singh, who was part of an India-wide network of bookies which also extended to the UAE and Pakistan, Mumbai police concluded that Meiyappan was in breach of the IPL Code of Conduct and Section 130 of the Mahrashtra Police Act ‘Cheating at Games’.

But it is the amount of inside information that Meiyappan was privy to that will cause concern for cricket fans. Between April 30 and May 16 there were 240 calls between him and Vindoo. Between May 12-15 according to the report “almost all intercepted calls...related to betting on matches.”

On May 12 Meiyappan told Vindoo Bangalore would score 190 against Kolkata and “then there bowling will come...Kolkata come to 150.” Bangalore actually made  115-9 and lost by five wickets.

Three days later, Vindoo spoke with another bookmaker, Pawan Jaipur, and told him that Meiyappan had said that Kolkata would beat Pune Warriors on that day. Meiyappan was wrong as KKR lost by seven runs.

Another conversation on May 14 showed Meiyappan telling Vindoo that there “were no other changes in the team”. 

Meiyappan also gave information to Vindoo during matches from May 12-14. Gayle would “get runs” for Bangalore against KKR on the 12^th and during the same match he described Trivedi as a “chucker” and “tough to play”. The next day he said that Steyn was “crucial” if Sunrisers Hyderabad were to beat Mumbai Indians.

Damningly, Meiyappan revealed the strategy of his own Super Kings players to the bookie. During play in the match against Rajasthan, Meiyappan said that Ravindra Jadeja would not lose his wicket. He remained not out.

And two days later for the contest against Delhi Daredevils, Meiyappan complained that Sehwag would “bat like an animal” and said that if his team’s bowler, Mohit Sharma, “has one bad day...DD will get runs.” Earlier, he had spoken to Vindoo and had passed on team news. “No other change...I am giving you weak link in bowling.”

He was also exposed for the huge sums that he bet on Super Kings to lose in the tainted Rajasthan game and discussing with Vindoo during play the best strategy for making the most money.

Before the match, the report confirms that Meiyappan told Vindoo the Super Kings would score 130-140 (they made 141) and that he had placed 20 lakh on Rajasthan to win.

He then places another bet, of 30 lakh, on Rajasthan at 21.09hrs. There are two further 30 lakh bets on Rajasthan recorded at 21.16hrs and 21.20.

In a further breach of the anti-corruption code, Meiyappan tells Vindoo of the state of the wicket in Ranchi and weather reports for Chennai. There are also calls in which Vindoo asks for more information about Super Kings strategy.

In another worrying link, the report states that Vindoo and Asad Rauf, the Pakistan international umpire spoke 80 times on a cell phone. Rauf was described as “most wanted” after he was recorded placing bets on IPL matches and passing on inside information.

Rauf, who was shown to also be in contact with Pawan Jaipur and had received gifts from him, invoiced the BCCI $58,208 for officiating in 16 matches during IPL, three of which involved Super Kings.

A version of this article was published in the Economic Times on March 7