Ex-South Africa international Bodi charged in match-fixing scandal

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Former South Africa international Gulam Bodi has been charged with attempting to fix matches in the country’s domestic Twenty20 competition, the country’s cricket authorities said on Thursday.

Bodi, who played two one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match for the national side in 2007, has been charged with “contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects of the 2015 competition”, they said.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) said in December it were investigating an “intermediary” for betting syndicates and had laid charges.

“Following our investigations and due process, we have reached a point where we can confirm that Mr Bodi is the intermediary who was charged by CSA in early December 2015 under the CSA Anti-Corruption Code,” CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement on Thursday.

“Mr Bodi is presently co-operating with the CSA anti-corruption officials. We now await his response to the charges and the matter will take its course in accordance with the process outlined in the code.”

CSA would not comment any further on the case but added that other players could be investigated in connection with the case.

Bodi, a former opening batsman and spinner who retired in 2014, also faces possible criminal charges.

South Africa’s government made match-fixing illegal and punishable with a prison sentence following the Hansie Cronje scandal.

Cronje was a respected captain of the national side before being banned for life in 2000 after attempting to fix matches on the orders of an Indian betting syndicate. He died in a plane crash in 2002.

Indian-born Bodi immigrated to South Africa as a teenager and played for the country at the Under-19 World Cup. He also represented the domestic Dolphins, Lions and Titans franchises, as well as Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

(Reporting by Nick Said; editing by John Stonestreet and Pritha Sarkar)