Match-Fixing Scandal! BCCI Bans This Team Owner for Lifetime Midway Through IPL 2025
BCCI has banned a franchise co-owner for life over a match-fixing scandal.
In a bold step against corruption, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has handed a lifetime ban to Gurmeet Singh Bhamrah, the former co-owner of SoBo Supersonics in the Mumbai T20 League. The decision came during the ongoing IPL 2025 season.
The ban was announced after BCCI Ombudsman Justice Arun Mishra completed an investigation into a 2019 match-fixing case. As per the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), Bhamrah had approached Indian pacer Dhawal Kulkarni and city-based cricketer Bhavin Thakkar with corrupt offers during the Mumbai T20 League.
Dhawal Kulkarni, who has played 12 ODIs and a couple of T20Is for India, was one of the key players approached. The ACU found Bhamrah guilty under Articles 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.4.1, 2.5.1, and 2.5.2 of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code. Based on this, the lifetime ban was imposed under Article 4 and 5 of the code.
Although the official ban order didn’t mention the time period, BCCI sources confirmed it as a lifetime ban, which is the highest possible punishment under the ACU rules. The Anti-Corruption Code states that offences under these articles can attract penalties from five years to life.
Bhamrah, who also had links with the GT20 Canada league, is now barred from all cricket-related activities under BCCI’s jurisdiction.
This comes just as the Mumbai T20 League is preparing to return after a long gap since 2019. The ban serves as a warning to all stakeholders that the BCCI won’t tolerate any act that puts the game’s credibility at risk.
