MUMBAI — An Indian television channel has said it has caught on camera international umpires agreeing to fix matches during domestic Twenty20 tournaments. Footage screened on India TV Monday and seen by Reuters appeared to show umpires from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka negotiating deals with under-cover reporters to spot-fix matches. The channel showed footage of Pakistan's Nadeem Ghauri, Nadir Shah of Bangladesh, part of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) international panel of umpires, and Sagara Gallage of Sri Lanka agreeing to give favorable decisions in exchange for umpiring contracts and money. The ICC said it has launched an “urgent investigation” following the allegations of match-fixing. In the sting operation, conducted in July and August, the reporters said they belonged to a sports management company and promised the umpires assignments in different events around the world, largely domestic Twenty20 leagues. While Ghauri and Shah appeared to agree to give wrong decisions, Gallage was ready to pass on information about the toss, the pitch and weather conditions in a match before it was available to the public. Shah flatly denied the allegations made against him. “This is a plot to malign my character. I was taken to Delhi by a Bangladeshi agent to sign a contract for umpiring in the Sri Lanka Premier League,” he told Reuters. “But when I saw these people are corrupt, I changed my decision and did not conduct any match in the SLPL. I was never involved in anything like fixing.” In May, the same television channel's sting operation prompted the Indian cricket board to ban one uncapped cricketer for life and hand out lesser punishments to four others for involvement in corruption in domestic cricket. The ICC said in a statement: “The ICC and its relevant members have been made aware of the allegations made by India TV this evening and calls on the station to turnover any information which can assist the ICC's urgent investigations into this matter. “The ICC reiterates its zero-tolerance toward corruption whether alleged against players or officials. The ICC confirms that none of the umpires named were involved in any of the official games of the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.” — Agencies
