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Cape Town - Lalit Modi, the former chairperson of the Indian Premier League (IPL), says that spot-fixing is "rife in the game" and that he has survived three attempts on his life for refusing to fix IPL matches.
Interviewed in the sensational new book Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy: A Journey to the Heart of Cricket’s Underworld by Ed Hawkins, Modi says: "Spot-fixing is rife in the game. And I’m talking globally. It’s a Pandora’s box. It’s staring you straight in the face, but difficult to prove. Almost impossible to prove."
He goes on to say that some players had to be warned about the presence of "undesirable elements" and states his belief that players should take more responsibility for corruption, rather than ‘pushing it under the carpet.
"I think it (IPL) was clean, but I could never, sitting here today, categorically tell you that we picked up everything for spot-fixing, and that goes for all games, not just IPL," says Modi.
"It’s extremely difficult to spot. We had to warn players from time to time. We found undesirable elements in the stadium and removed them. We found them touring with players or managers of players who were in touch with bookmakers and we removed them."
He continues: "The players have to be the ones who take responsibility. It’s their game. The game is by them, for them and of them. They need to be speaking out instead of pushing it under the carpet, which is normally the case. They need to come out and tell the truth. No one will know better if it is happening than the teammates. If they won’t talk or give information it’s difficult for anyone else to know."
Modi recounts three occasions when he says that his life was threatened "by the underworld for refusing to fix IPL matches."
One was in Mumbai at the end of March 2009.
"There was a shoot-out outside my house and one guy got killed and one got picked up," he says.
The other attempts came in South Africa in April of the same year and in Phuket, Thailand, in January 2010. On each occasion he was warned by the police or the intelligence agencies.
Author Hawkins says the aim of Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy is to "get under the fingernails of the bookmakers, punters and fixers who seek to corrupt cricket." In doing so he was given the names of 45 former and current international and domestic cricketers who are alleged to have been involved in corrupt activities. None are named for legal reasons.
All of the information gathered in researching the book has been passed to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.
HAVE YOUR SAY: What percentage of cricket matches are "dirty"? Do you think we'll ever get to a position where shady, underhand fixers won't be part and parcel of Twenty20, ODI and Test matches? Send your thoughts to Sport24.
Interviewed in the sensational new book Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy: A Journey to the Heart of Cricket’s Underworld by Ed Hawkins, Modi says: "Spot-fixing is rife in the game. And I’m talking globally. It’s a Pandora’s box. It’s staring you straight in the face, but difficult to prove. Almost impossible to prove."
He goes on to say that some players had to be warned about the presence of "undesirable elements" and states his belief that players should take more responsibility for corruption, rather than ‘pushing it under the carpet.
"I think it (IPL) was clean, but I could never, sitting here today, categorically tell you that we picked up everything for spot-fixing, and that goes for all games, not just IPL," says Modi.
"It’s extremely difficult to spot. We had to warn players from time to time. We found undesirable elements in the stadium and removed them. We found them touring with players or managers of players who were in touch with bookmakers and we removed them."
He continues: "The players have to be the ones who take responsibility. It’s their game. The game is by them, for them and of them. They need to be speaking out instead of pushing it under the carpet, which is normally the case. They need to come out and tell the truth. No one will know better if it is happening than the teammates. If they won’t talk or give information it’s difficult for anyone else to know."
Modi recounts three occasions when he says that his life was threatened "by the underworld for refusing to fix IPL matches."
One was in Mumbai at the end of March 2009.
"There was a shoot-out outside my house and one guy got killed and one got picked up," he says.
The other attempts came in South Africa in April of the same year and in Phuket, Thailand, in January 2010. On each occasion he was warned by the police or the intelligence agencies.
Author Hawkins says the aim of Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy is to "get under the fingernails of the bookmakers, punters and fixers who seek to corrupt cricket." In doing so he was given the names of 45 former and current international and domestic cricketers who are alleged to have been involved in corrupt activities. None are named for legal reasons.
All of the information gathered in researching the book has been passed to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.
HAVE YOUR SAY: What percentage of cricket matches are "dirty"? Do you think we'll ever get to a position where shady, underhand fixers won't be part and parcel of Twenty20, ODI and Test matches? Send your thoughts to Sport24.
