New Delhi: Former South Africa cricket players Thami Tsolekile and Lonwabo Tsotsobe have been arrested over match-fixing allegations. Both ex-international cricketers, who have been charged with corruption, face the possibility of prison sentences if they are convicted.
The duo was previously handed long bans from cricket along with other players.
Tsolekile and Tsotsobe were held last month over a match-fixing scandal during a domestic event in South Africa in 2015, the police confirmed last week.
The former cricketers appeared in a specialised commercial crimes court in Pretoria on Friday and were charged with five counts under South Africa’s anti-corruption law.
Potential prison sentences
Under the anti-corruption law, a convict can get a prison sentence of up to 18 years in some circumstances. However, two other cricketers who previously pleaded guilty in the same fixing scandal received suspended prison sentences.
44-year-old Tsolekile, who played three Tests for the Proteas almost 20 years ago, was banned from all cricket for 12 years in 2016.
Meanwhile, Tsotsobe, a 40-year-old former pacer who played in all three formats – Tests, One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 games between 2009 and 14, was handed an eight-year ban back in 2017.
Another domestic-level player, Ethy Mbhalati, who was held last month, is also facing corruption charges alongside Tsolekile and Tsotsobe.
South Africa’s decade-long match-fixing investigation
South Africa’s Ram Slam T20 competition was rocked by allegations of match-fixing in 2015 after an investigation by cricket authorities found evidence of players being approached by former South Africa batter Gulam Bodi to fix matches or parts of matches on behalf of Indian bookmakers. Bodi was jailed for five years for his role in trying to get the players to fix matches.
According to the investigators, players did discuss the possibility of fixing matches but no fixing took place.
Two other cricketers were arrested in 2021 and 2022, respectively, in the same scandal. Both received suspended prison sentences between four and six years after pleading guilty.
A special police unit has been given charge to investigate Tsolekile and Tsotsobe since 2016.
Thami Tsolekile and Lonwabo Tsotsobe were held last month over a match-fixing scandal during a domestic event in South Africa in 2015, the police confirmed last week. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
