BCCI keeping an eye out for 'Kingpin' of match-fixing Ravinder Dandiwal 

In a startling development, the BCCI confirmed that they were keeping an eye out for Mohali's Ravinder Dandiwal, an alleged kingpin of a major international tennis match-fixing syndicate, who also figures on the watchlist of India’s cricket board.

As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, the Victoria Police had named Ravinder Dandiwal as the “central figure” in the match-fixing scandal which was later confirmed to The Indian Express by a top BCCI anti-corruption official.

Terming Dandiwal as 'a person of interest', the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) head Ajit Singh spoke how the alleged match-fixer convinced certain low-ranked tennis players to throw away their matches while his companions placed bets with bookies.

BCCI's Ajit Singh explained Dandiwal's cricket connection

Ajit Singh also explained Dandiwal's cricket connection. He stated how the accused was doing so at the club level and even had connections with the Afghanistan Premier League, where he was appointed CEO of one of the franchises.

Dhaliwal also had connections with certain private cricket leagues in Haryana.

“He is originally from Mohali near Chandigarh but moves around a lot in the Middle East and other places. His name has figured among those who organise cricket leagues. Once it figured in a private cricket league in Haryana, which the ACU scuttled. An advisory was sent to all BCCI-registered players not to participate,” he said.

“He had taken a cricket team to Australia, where a club was organising a tournament, and a few players from that team never returned… We found that the players who had vanished were charged hefty sums to be part of the team. Probably, it was an immigration racket and that’s why we lodged a complaint with police,” Ajit Singh commented.

“There have been inquiries about him, but he is not a participant, so there’s very little action that we can take against him. He hasn’t figured in the inquiries we conducted in the T20 leagues (organised by state associations). But he is a person of interest, and we do try and keep him under watch,” Ajit Singh further added.

BCCI's Anti-Corruption Unit head Ajit Singh also stated that Australia had taken an action against the accused courtesy the law that exists in the nation. India, meanwhile, have not been able to do so due to the non-existence of such a law.