The stage was set by 21 farm labourers and unemploye youths in a remote farm at Molipur village of Mehsana district in Gujarat by not just creating a fake Indian Premier League but also making it look so real that punters in the Russian cities of Tver, Voronezh and Moscow were induce into placing bets for the matches that were broadcaste live in a Youtube channel call as “IPL” for close to a fortnight, as per report in TOI.
Here it is, the moment you’ve all been waiting for….
— Jordan Elgott (@JElgott) July 11, 2022
Footage of the Fake IPL, which somehow conned people in Russia into betting on it.
‘Chennai Fighters’ off to a solid start, pitch looking in good condition. pic.twitter.com/XtaL5W5zli
This fake league had reach the quarter-final stage before the organisers were nab by the police.
So far, the Mehsana police have arrest four people involve in orchestrating the ‘Indian premier cricket league’ and are also looking at the hawala channel use to keep this audacious act alive.
What Made the FAKE IPL Look So Real?
- The organisers took turns wearing jerseys of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT) in an attempt to make it look as real as possible.
- Pose as umpires and use walkie-talkies to orchestrate the unthinkable in front of five HD cameras.
- The audience in Russia fell for the bait as sound effects of crowd noise were download from the internet to make it look as bona fide as possible.
- A commentator from Meerut was hire who could mimic Harsha Bhogle to remove all doubts if anybody had any by that stage with setting up a telegram channel for the punters to bet their roubles.
Can't stop laughing. Must hear this "commentator" pic.twitter.com/H4EcTBkJVa
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 11, 2022
A person identified as Shoeb Davda was the chief organiser of the con game, who had live in Russia for a period of eight months and work there in a pub famous for taking bets.
Police official Bhavesh Rathod Said :
“Shoeb Davda hire the farm of Ghulam Masih and install halogen lights there. He readied 21 farm labourers, promising them Rs 400 per match. After that, he hire cameramen and bought t-shirts of IPL teams,”.
Shoeb Davda was almost able to pull off the fake IPL by teaming up with Asif Mohammed, who he had met in Russia while working in the pub.
Asif Mohammed was the mind behind setting up the fake league, who had introduce the Russian punters to the game of cricket.
Just incredible. And if they had called it the ‘Metaverse IPL’ they could have gotten a billion dollar valuation! https://t.co/62j974dL2U
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 11, 2022
After returning from Russia in Molipur, Shoeb Davda hire Sadiq Davda, Saqib, Saifi and Mohammed Kolu to pose as umpires in the fake IPL matches.
Bhavesh Rathod Said :
“Shoeb Davda would take live bets over the Telegram channel. He would instruct Kolu, the umpire, over a walkie-talkie to signal fours and sixes. Kolu communicated the same to the batsman and the bowler. Acting on the instructions, the bowler would deliver a slow ball, enabling the batsman to hit it for a four or a six,”.
The orchestrators of the fake IPL league were nab when the first installment of bets of ₹3 lakhs from Russia were deliver.
