By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Nov 10:
Former first-class cricketer Robin Morris, who has represented Mumbai and Odisha in Ranji Trophy, was arrested by Versova police in North West Mumbai for allegedly running a betting racket on Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches.
The police also arrested two others for allegedly taking bets on IPL matches and seized several mobile phones, two tablet gadgets, and cash worth Rs9,000 from the flat and booked trio under provisions of the IPC Gambling Act.
The police said that they received information about a betting racket operating at Morris’s flat at Yari Road, Andheri (West), following which they launched a raid at the location. According to police, the trio was allegedly found accepting bets for the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Canada-born Indian Morris, 44, played 42 first-class games and 51 List A games (domestic one-dayers) for Mumbai and Odisha between 1995 and 2007. Robin Morris played 42 first-class matches and 51 List A games in a career running from 1995 to 2007. He also took part in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL) playing for Mumbai Champs.
This is not the cricketer’s first encounter in illegal activities. Last year, Robin Morris was accused of kidnapping a loan agent. When the loan was not approved, Morris along with four other kidnapped the agent, as the police said. He also made into the news headlines by a news channel “Al Jazeera” in a sting operation for involvement in match-fixing. Former Pakistani cricketer, Hasan Raza was seen sitting next to Morris. The cricketer later denied the allegations and said he was called there for an audition in a film.
The 44-year-old had participated also in a private cricket league, ICL for Mumbai Champs. The controversial league was later terminated as a lack of support from BCCI and commercial factors.
