There have been many instances of match-fixing and spot-fixing in cricket because of which the International Cricket Council and cricket boards of various countries have come up with measures to counter the threat of corruption as it adversely affects the integrity and dignity of the game.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also boosted its anti-corruption activity after cricketers – S. Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan, Ajit Chandila and former team director of CSK, Gurunath Meiyappan were caught on the charges of the spot-fixing in the IPL 2023. In the present times, an ACU official is attached with each team and he lives in the same accommodation so that he can supervise all the activities.
The Indian cricketer Mohammed Siraj was contacted by an individual who wanted some inside information for corrupt purposes during the ODI series which was played between India and Australia. Siraj made no delay in informing the officials about it and as per a source, the individual has been caught by the law enforcement authorities. He is not a bookie, he is a driver from Hyderabad who has incurred huge losses due to his addiction of betting on matches.
All the cricketers need to attend the sessions of ACU before the start of the tournaments. They are mandatory as they help a player understand as to how he should react in any given situation. If a cricketer fails in reporting or chooses not to divulge the details intentionally, then he has to bear the consequences just like Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan on whom the ban was imposed in 2021 for not revealing the dishonest plan.
Twitterati also got in action as they got to know about this news, here are some selected tweets:
A driver from Hyderabad approached Mohammad Siraj in March after losing huge money in betting. He asked Siraj for inside information, Siraj reported the approach to the Anti-Corruption Unit. (Reported by PTI).
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 19, 2023
Siraj respect +++++++ 😌
— Arnav❤️🔥 (@82OF53) April 19, 2023
True Patriot… Well done Miyan Bhai ❤️
— ً (@KohliMyHeart) April 19, 2023
Well done Siraj
— U DO YOU(उदय) (@udaydere) April 19, 2023
Approached wrong team, we don't do that here
— A. (@rcb_itcell) April 19, 2023
Making it clear again
He reported it to the unit
not attempted it
few people are mis-understanding it pic.twitter.com/8UgEwpUCFs— non sync (@sterns_haschen) April 19, 2023
The guy contracted the wrong player.
— JP Chadda🇵🇸🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🇺🇦 (@JP_Chadda) April 19, 2023
Siraj has got the most amazing attitude on the field, his enthusiasm is infectious. Now he has proved his integrity too. 👏🏽👏🏽
— aman kharbas (@aman_kharbas) April 19, 2023
Siraz mazak nahi information do abhi pic.twitter.com/5ln5BUFd3C
— Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) April 19, 2023
What Siraj has done is commendable! Well done Siraj!