Former India pacer Abhimanyu Mithun has been summoned for questioning in the Karnataka Premier League’s betting and spot-fixing scandal. Mithun will become the first international to be questioned by Central Crime Branch sleuths probing the scandal. Mithun is captain of the Shivamogga Lions team in KPL.
Confirming the news, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said, “Yes, we have directed Mithun to appear before the CCB for questioning.”
As Mithun has represented the Indian cricket team in both Tests and ODIs, CCB has kept the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the loop, Patil said. Mithun played four Tests and five ODIs for India.
“We have prepared some questions for Mithun about his game during the last KPL season,” a CCB officer said.
Sought by Bengaluru police, Mithun is still in Surat playing T20s. The CCB has arrested eight people since July in connection with the KPL betting scandal, including Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of Belagavi Panthers. The Karnataka high court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of Thara.
In KPL, Abhimanyu Mithun first played for Malnad Gladiators. He then appeared for Bijapur Bills before switching to Shivamogga Lions in the last season.
Last week, CCB had issued notices to Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and KPL team managers and sent them a questionnaire on the KPL matches. Some KPL players who were not willing to join hands with bookies were honey-trapped.
All attempts to contact Mithun failed. At present, the bowler is in Surat with the Karnataka team, which is playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament.
