Cricket has had a number of controversies relating to players being involved with the betting aspects of the game. In particular, numerous players have been approached by
bookmakers and bribed to, throw matches, aspects of matches (e.g.
the toss) or provide other information.
1999-2000 India-South Africa match fixing scandal
In 2000, the
Delhi police intercepted a conversation between a blacklisted bookie and the
South Africa cricket captain
Hansie Cronje in which they learnt that Cronje accepted money to throw matches. The South African government refused to allow any of its players to face the Indian investigation unit. A court of inquiry was set up and Cronje admitted to throwing matches. He was immediately banned from all cricket. He also named
Saleem Malik (
Pakistan),
Mohammed Azharuddin and
Ajay Jadeja (
India). Jadeja was banned for 4 years. They too were banned from all cricket. As a kingpin, Cronje exposed the dark side of betting, however with his untimely death in 2002 most of his sources also have escaped law enforcement agencies. Two South African cricketers,
Herschelle Gibbs and
Nicky Boje, were also listed as wanted by the Delhi police for their role in the match fixing saga.
Other controversies
Among the scandals were
Mark Waugh and
Shane Warne's fines from the Australian Cricket Board for offering information about the weather and pitch information to "
John the...
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