All Cricket Matches Are Fixed: Sanjiv Chawla Statement To Police

New Delhi: The prime accused in the 2000 Hansie Cronje match-fixing case, Sanjeev Chawla has said all the cricket matches which people watch are fixed.

In his disclosure statement to the Delhi Police, Chawla pointed to the involvement of “a very big syndicate/underworld mafia” that influences all cricket games. The matches were like “movies which are already being directed by someone,” as per a report by The New Indian Express.

The charge sheet filed against Chawla details the alleged role played by him and others in fixing cricket matches during South Africa’s 2000 tour of India. It has also the transcript of a conversation between Chawla and Hansie which hints at an exchange of inside information and cash between the two.

Chawla, in his statement, said that he moved to London in 1993 and was in the “business of clothes”, and owned shops in London’s Oxford Street. He also said the co-accused Kumar, Kalra, Dara, his old friends, were also involved in match-fixing.  Chawla became a UK citizen in early 2000 after his long stay in London. In February this year, he was brought to India after a lengthy extradition process.

“Since the matter is still under investigation, we may not be able to share any intricate details,” Special CP (Crime) Praveer Ranjan said.