Fake IPL duped Russian punters in Gujarat village. Ahmedabad News – Times of India

Ahmedabad: Not so Cricketbut one Gujarat The village almost pulled off a wide con with a fake IPL – Complete with farm workers disguised as players, a Harsha Bhogle Mimics and even an “official” Telegram channel to take the punt – for a remote audience of Russian punters who are accustomed to betting on T20 thrills and spills.
The game, played at a remote farm in Molipur village in Mehsana district, reached the “Knockout Quarterfinal” stage before being caught by the organizers of the “Indian Premier Cricket League”. police,

The opposition gang, which organized an “IPL” match at a farm in a village in Gujarat, accepted bets from punters in the Russian cities of Tver, Voronezh and Moscow. Cricket matches were telecast live on a YouTube channel labeled “IPL” for more than a fortnight.

What made this big scandal even more audacious was that three weeks after the conclusion of the original IPL, fake matches started.
Carrying out the real-life thugs were 21 farm laborers and unemployed youths from the village, who alternately wore jerseys of Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans. He also officiated by showing some walkie-talkies in front of five HD cameras. Crowd-noise sound effects downloaded from the Internet made the atmosphere authentic for the audience sitting in Russia.

A “commentator” from Meerut combined the spirit of the fake tournament with Harsha Bhogle’s imitation talent, prompting punters to bet their ruble on the Telegram channel set up by the gang.

Mehsana Police has so far arrested four people and is probing the hawala channel used to keep this fraud alive.

Interestingly, reacting to a Twitter user’s post about this news article, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra posted: “Absolutely unbelievable. And if they had called it ‘Metaverse IPL’ they would have been a Could get a billion dollar valuation!”

Shoaib Davda, the “chief organiser” who returned to Molypur after working eight months at a famous Russian pub for placing bets, helped perpetuate the scam. “Shoaib rented the farm of Ghulam Masih and installed halogen lights there. He promised Rs 400 per match to 21 agricultural labourers. Thereafter, they hired cameramen and bought T-shirts of IPL teams,” said police officer Bhavesh Rathod.

Shoaib later told the police that while working in a Russian pub, he had met Asif Mohammad, the mastermind of the thief. Asif introduced Russian punters to the nuances of cricket in the pub.
Once back in Molipur, Shoaib teamed up with Sadiq Davda, Saqib, Saifi and Mohammad Kolu, who played umpires in mock IPL matches. Saqib, a resident of Meerut, voluntarily wanted to become a commentator.

The first installment of the Rs 3 lakh bet was paid by Russia just when they were caught. “Shoaib will bet live on Telegram channel. He used to instruct the umpire Kolu to hit fours and sixes on the walkie-talkie. Kolu told the same to the batsman and the bowler. Acting on the instructions, the bowler used to bowl the ball at a slow pace, allowing the batsman to hit him for a four or a six,” Rathod said.