×

South African bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe denies involvement in match-fixing scandal

Lonwabo Tsotsobe was once ranked the No. 1 bowler in 2012.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe has played 61 ODIs, 23 T20Is and 5 Tests for South Africa © Getty Images
Lonwabo Tsotsobe has played 61 ODIs, 23 T20Is and 5 Tests for South Africa © Getty Images

South Africa fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe has denied charges of being involved any match-fixing scandal and claims that he has cooperated with Cricket South Africa (CS) and provided them with the required proof such as phone bills and bank account details, which will enable the authorities to clear his name. As many as eight players were named by the South African media in the match-fixing scandal, which included Tsotsobe and now him along with wicketkeeper  Thami Tsolekile have taken necessary steps to clear their names. Gulam Bodi was banned for 20 years had earlier admitted to fixing many matches in last year’s domestic T20 competitions. READ: Gulam Bodi banned by CSA from all cricket-related activities for 20 years

“There’s a lot of speculation going around,” Tsotsobe told Wisden India. “I’m not going to entertain anything but Cricket South Africa can do anything they need to do to check if we did any match-fixing with the people that they are investigating. I’ve given them everything they want. My phone bills, my messages, my bank accounts, everything. They said they would get back to me.” READ: Gulam Bodi faces further criminal charges by CSA apart from 20 years ban

Bodi was banned for a period of 20 years from all forms of cricket as well as related activities by CSA after he admitted to charges of conspiring to corrupt matches during the recent Ram Slam Twenty20 tournament. Bodi was among the chief accused in the recent match-fixing scandal, which rocked South African cricket and rears its ugly head in the country for the first time since the infamous episode involving former South African skipper Hansie Cronje at the turn of the millennium.

Bodi, who hails from Hathuran in Gujarat  in India, has played two One-Day Internationals (ODI) and a Twenty20 International (T20I) in 2007 for South Africa, and was also considered the chief reason for South African-born star cricketer Kevin Pietersen’s emigration to England, with Bodi getting picked over the latter due to the quota rules.

trending this week