Belagavi Panthers boss Thara had stake in a T10 team, organised tournament in Sri Lanka

Thara also was the main organiser of the International Cricket Premier League (ICPL) that was held in Sri Lanka, a tournament launched in 2016 and organised by his travel company. Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya was the brand ambassador of the tournament.

A former India player was supposed to have taken part as a committee member of ICPL but later pulled out. “At that time, it was because of presence of Pakistan players in that tournament and I wasn’t sure how the Indian cricket board would see it.”

Another former India player was offered a job in Ali’s team in KPL but refused. “Nothing concrete, but the talk about him (Thara) among players I knew put me off. I thought it’s better if I stayed away.”

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The overwhelming feeling among a few players in the T20 league was one of relief when news broke that Thara was picked up by the police. The episode also raises questions about the various T20 leagues operating in the country and beyond. Such was the suspicious activity around KPL that one player said his captain would announce the team only in the final huddle on the field as there were “suspicions about couple of players in the team”. This wasn’t Thara’s team Belagavi Panthers but another.

Another player’s suspicion arose when he found “fans” from Haryana visit Hubli to watch KPL games. “I was thinking we aren’t that big; why would they come from Haryana? Definitely fishy; illegal betting and what not, we players have our doubts and would chat about it.”

It was the similar case with TNPL, where the sources involved in the probe told The Indian Express that, bookies and match fixers take control of a franchise through an illegal deal with the team owner and are running “the team in such a way that they make windfall gain in betting”.

The Anti Corruption Unit sources say that one of the bookies confided to them that the coach was seen giving instructions to players on how many runs to score. It was also reported that “important persons in touch with bookies are spreading in different teams” in the TNPL league.

READ | Fixing returns to haunt Indian cricket

A similar allegation has surfaced in KPL as well, especially regarding Thara, who is alleged to have kept in contact with players across different teams. A member of the Belagavi Panthers told this newspaper about how Thara used to run a cricket academy in Bangalore and also reported to have owned a few cricket clubs. “He would organise tournaments before and made a few contacts through that.”

A player said that Thara would send players to Dubai in the past for cricket tournaments. “When he came on to KPL, rumours started to spread among players and I would pray that I was never picked up by his team in the auction.”

The joint commissioner of Bengaluru police Sandeep Patil said on Tuesday after arresting the owner: “Thara was in touch with a Dubai-based bookie.” The police have summoned 34 players from various teams for questioning.