Bose M: Cricket and Betting in Sub Continent (19 Feb 95)

All aboard the orient express as gamblers gather steam Mihir Bose

ILLEGAL bets on cricket and the possibility of tempting cricketers to throw matches has long been an oriental secret. The Australian allegations may have been denied but fear haunts the Pakistan team. When its members were required to swear on the Koran not to take bribes or throw matches before their current tour of southern Africa, it was not the first time such an oath had to be taken.

Pakistani cricketers have been subject to rumours of bribetaking ever since the 1979-80 tour of India. The final Test in Calcutta, played after the hosts had won the series, saw large sums taken on India winning the toss and taking a first-innings lead. Asif Iqbal, the Pakistan captain, not only lost the toss but declared 59 behind with six wickets standing. Such were the losses suffered by the bookmakers that all bets were cancelled.

``I didn`t even know betting existed then,`` Asif said last week.`` The people who made the allegations about the toss were they there when I tossed the coin? As far as declaring, we had a chat and felt that losing a series 2-0 is as good as losing 3-0. Unfortunately, we dropped a couple of catches.``

During a one-day tournament in Sharjah, in 1990-91, Asif, who was one of the organisers, said there were rumours ``that some players had guaranteed they would lose against Australia``. To demonstrate their integrity, Imran Khan proposed taking the losers` prize-money and placing it on a bet to win. Pakistan won.

The most serious allegation came after Pakistan unexpectedly lost to Australia in the 1987 World Cup semi-final in Lahore. According to Sarfraz Nawaz, a former Test colleague, Asif, among others, paid 30m rupees to the home team to lose. Asif asked the Pakistan board to investigate. ``I said that, if what Sarfraz says is true, ban the team and make sure we are punished as well. If not, Sarfraz should be punished. Nothing happened.``

Asif believes such rumours gain currency because many Indian and Pakistani supporters cannot conceive of defeat by legitimate means. Another factor is the illegality of cricket betting on the sub-continent. In Pakistan, where all betting is prohibited, punters gather in the street outside the Stock Exchange, listening to radios whenever a Test is on, even if Pakistan are not involved.Sarfraz, now a special adviser to the prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, claims that even local matches are fixed, and has demanded a government investigation.

However, the betting market in Pakistan is small when compared with the big-money betting in Bombay. ``At present there are three big syndicates that control the Bombay market,`` Kishore Bhimani, a Calcutta sports editor, said. ``The betting is done in certain selected homes and millions of rupees are bet. The odds can change every ball, and Indian bookmakers form a chain with Bombay syndicates at the head.`` The Bombay bookmakers have their own informants and during Test matches constantly ring up grounds for information, no matter how trivial. One of the best known is Ibrahamis, currently wanted in India for his alleged connections with a series of bomb blasts in Bombay but exiled in Dubai, from where he runs his operations through agents, one of whom is said to be a former Test player from the subcontinent. Ibrahamis also has a private box at the Sharjah ground.

Bhimani`s suspicions gathered steam after last year`s one-day match in Sri Lanka, when Pakistan failed to surpass Australia`s 179: ``I had bet 28,000 rupees (Pounds 500) on Pakistan winning and even when they needed 60 with seven wickets in hand, bookmakers were offering me generous odds. I was sucked in but later a bookmaker friend told me the match was fixed.``

It was after this allegation had surfaced that the Pakistan board decided to ban mobile telephones from the dressing room. Asif believes that the only answer is a major investigation. ``I find it very hard as a Pakistani not to be able to answer when somebody asks if these allegations are true. When Mike Gatting played the reverse sweep in the World Cup final, did anybody accuse him of throwing the match?``

Source :: Sunday Times