KOLKATA: A new book that takes a holistic look at cricket corruption has begun reaching bookstores on the eve of the World T20. And its author hopes to “rattle” the reader with its revelations.

Published by Harper Sports – a division of Harper Collins – the book “takes an overarching look at world cricket and various corruption issues”, says its author, journalist Shantanu Guha Ray.

“When it comes to finding a solution, we ought to remember that ICC refused to engage Interpol to clean up the game,” adds Guha Ray, currently India Editor, Central European News.

“Like football, cricket has its fair share of illegal cash, but unlike what we have seen in football, there has been no serious effort at cleansing it.”

As a result, the Delhi-based writer contends, “corruption will continue because the gravy trail is too big ... I doubt there ever will be a total spring cleaning”.

This “gravy trail” is worth $150 billion worldwide, says Guha Ray, who as Deputy Business Editor of India Today magazine in 2011, scooped a multi-billion-dollar scam in India’s coal sector, popularly known as Coalgate.

“There is a burgeoning market of punters and bookies across Asia and parts of Europe, South Africa and Canada which is into this business of illegal cash,” he tells this correspondent.

“And all those who are in it are rich. Then why are they in it? They are in it because unlike me or you, they need more cash, probably loads of them through the illegal route.”

The book, titled ‘Fixed’, will be formally launched on April 8, as the World T20 ends and the Indian Premier League (IPL) begins. It is also available on Amazon.

But Guha Roy says that the timing is not a marketing ploy to tap into the heightened interest in the game because of the World T20, expected to garner a TV viewership of over 1.5 billion.

“The launch timing has nothing to do with IPL or the World Cup,” he says. “This is the cricket season in India, and it made sense to launch it now.”

Grassing Tendulkar

The veteran journalist says ‘Fixed’ has “loads of interesting stories” ranging from those on Hansie Cronje and the late Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer to material on cricketers.

The stories include those which surfaced during the ICC World Cup in 2011, jointly hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

“Text messages routinely predicted the results, the most bizarre being the India‐Pakistan match in Mohali,” he says of the semi-final that Shahid Afridi’s team lost by 29 runs.

“When the Pakistanis were bowling, people had information about how the next over would go, over-by-over,” Guha Ray, who earlier worked for sports broadcaster ESPN, told this reporter over phone from Delhi.

He also referred to the multiple reprieves Man-of-the-Match Sachin Tendulkar got; the Pakistanis grassed four catching chances off him when the star batsman was on 27, 45, 70 and 84.

“You drop one catch ... fine; you drop two catches ... fine. But you do it four times? You don’t drop Sachin Tendulkar four times. Even the foreign journalists were surprised.”

Rauf and IPL

Guha Ray says ‘Fixed’ has some new material on the betting scandal in the IPL that saw two teams getting disbarred, one being the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.

“India’s apex court has said it all, who am I to talk about betting in India?” says Guha Ray, whose first book, ‘Mahi – The Story of India’s Most Successful Captain’, was on Dhoni.

But at the same time, he points out, he has not ignored IPL. “My book has some interesting dope on the IPL scandal, where the world’s richest board chose to downplay some of the biggest scandals.

“I have included details that will rattle you, especially stories about how the bookies have –superbly – penetrated the game.”

‘Fixed’ also touches upon on Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf “but not in detail ... Rauf did not talk much in India, went back after some charges surfaced against him” over the way he officiated in the IPL.

Last month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) banned Rauf from officiating in any match in the country for five years after finding him guilty of corrupt practices during IPL 2013.

A member of the ICC’s Elite Panel of Umpires, Rauf had been accused of accepting expensive gifts from bookies and placing bets on IPL matches. He has since then threatened to sue BCCI.

Guha Roy says Rauf got “sucked into the system” because the offers were too tempting. “He played along, got stuck in the mud.”