BCCI Ombudsman imposes lifetime ban on MumbaI's cricket league team owner over match-fixing charges

New Delhi (India), April 18 (ANI): The Ombudsman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday imposed a lifetime ban on Gurmeet Singh Bhamrah, the owner of a Mumbai T20 League team, for "violating" BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Code over allegations of attempting to fix a match.

BCCI Ombudsman Justice Arun Mishra, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, stated that corrupt practices such as match-fixing must be dealt with strictly. He imposed the highest prescribed punishment on Bhamrah.

According to the order of the BCCI Ombudsman accessed by ANI, the case pertains to the second season of the Mumbai T20 League. The match in question was the semi-final of the tournament, played in May 2019.

The order states that Bhamrah made a match-fixing attempt by approaching a player, who subsequently reported the matter to the concerned agencies.

Earlier, the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Bureau had conducted an inquiry, during which Bhamrah was “found guilty”. The matter was then referred to the Ombudsman.

Justice Arun Mishra provided detailed reasoning for upholding the charge of violating the Anti-Corruption Code and for imposing a lifetime ban on Gurmeet Singh Bhamrah.

The team owner reportedly had commercial interests in cricket leagues in other countries, including Canada. (ANI)