Fake IPL that duped Russian punters busted in Gujarat

The Gujarat police have busted a fake Indian Premier League (IPL) racket in the state with the matches being staged for punters from Russia. The fake IPL matches were played amongst farm labourers pretending to be players while a Harsha Bhogle mimic commentated on the match.

According to a report in the Times of India, the fake IPL was being played at a farm in Molipur Village of the Mehsana district and the tournament had progressed to the quarter-finals stage before it was busted.

The bets on the matches were placed from the Russian cities of Tver, Voronezh and Moscow through a Telegram channel as the matches were broadcast on a Youtube channel named "IPL".

The report further stated that 21 farm labourers and unemployed youths from the village pretended to be players from IPL sides Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans. To make the tournament look more authentic, five HD cameras were used and a crowd-noise sound effect was added. A Meerut resident who can mimic Bhogle was used as a commentator.

Can't stop laughing. Must hear this "commentator" pic.twitter.com/H4EcTBkJVa

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 11, 2022

So far the police have arrested four people in connection to the fraud case. Shoeb Davda, who returned to Molipur after working for eight months in a Russian pub, is the "chief organiser' of the con, according to the police. “Shoeb hired the farm of Ghulam Masih and installed haloggen lights there. He readied 21 farm labourers, promising them Rs 400 per match. Next, he hired cameramen and bought t-shirts of IPL teams,” police officer Bhavesh Rathod said.

Just incredible. And if they had called it the ‘Metaverse IPL’ they could have gotten a billion dollar valuation! https://t.co/62j974dL2U

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 11, 2022

During the interrogation, Shoeb revealed that he had met a person named Asif Mohammed in the Russian pub who masterminded the charade. Shoeb later teamed up with Sadiq Davda, Saqib, Saifi and Mohammed Kolu in Molipur to orchasterate the fake IPL.

“Shoeb would take live bets over the Telegram channel. He would instruct Kolu, the umpire, over a walkie-talkie to signal fours and sixes. Kolu communicated the same to the the batsman and the bowler. Acting on the instructions, the bowler would deliver a slow ball, enabling the batsman to hit it for a four or a six,” Rathod said.

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