3 Ex South African Cricketers Arrested for Match Fixing Scandal Ethy Mbhalati Thami Tsolekile Lonwabo Tsotsobe

3 Ex South African Cricketers Arrested: Match fixing is a big crime in a game like cricket. After this is revealed, the players who commit this crime also go to jail. A similar case has been seen in South African cricket. Where an 8 year old match fixing scandal has been exposed, for which three players have been arrested. Thami Solekil, Lonavo Tsotobe and Athi Mbalati have been arrested for this incident. These three cricketers were arrested on 18, 28 and 29 November. He is accused of being involved in match fixing in the 2015-16 T20 Ram Slam Challenge tournament.

This arrest was made by the Serious Corruption Investigation Unit of DPCI. The investigation was based on revelations made by a whistleblower in 2016. The investigation was initiated by Cricket South Africa's anti-corruption officer after Ghulam Bodi's suspicious activities were detected.

Thami Solekil and Lonavo Tsotobe have been charged with five counts under the Prevention and Control of Corruption Act, 2004 (PRECCA). Both players appeared in the Specialized Commercial Crime Court in Pretoria on 29 November 2024, where the next hearing of the case has been scheduled for 26 February 2025.

Ghulam Bodi's name also surfaced
Investigation revealed that Ghulam Bodi had tried to influence the results of three domestic T20 matches by contacting several players. He was part of this conspiracy along with Indian bookies. Bodi was arrested in 2018 and convicted on eight counts in 2019, after which he was sentenced to five years in prison.

Cricket career of these three cricketers
Of the three arrested players, only Lonavo Tsotobe has been part of the South African national team. He has played 5 Tests, 61 ODIs and 23 T20 International matches. His last international match was in the 2014 T20 World Cup. Whereas, the careers of Thami Solekil and Athi Mbalati were limited to first class and List A cricket.

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