Cape Town - The on-going match-fixing scandal that rocked Cricket South Africa last year took a further twist on Thursday morning with former Proteas bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe confirming he is under investigation.
Speaking to Wisden India, the 31-year-old admits that he was requested to hand over personal information to Cricket South Africa.
"There’s a lot of speculation going around. I'm not going to entertain anything but Cricket South Africa can do anything they need to do to check if we did any match-fixing with the people that they are investigating,” Tsotsobe reportedly said.
"I've given them everything they want. My phone bills, my messages, my bank accounts, everything. They said they would get back to me."
After an initial investigation towards the end of last year, CSA revealed Tsotsobe’s former Lions teammate Gulam Bodi as the intermediary between the players and the Indian bookies that were trying to influence the outcome of matches played in the domestic RamSlam T20 competition. CSA subsequently banned Bodi for 20 years, who they believed was caught in the "planning phase" and that no matches were actually fixed.
At the time CSA stated that the investigation was on-going and could not comment further on the identity of other players involved. Their stance on the issue remains the same with CSA Communications Manager Altaaf Khazi re-iterating the cricket body’s stance on the matter.
“The investigation is on-going and we cannot at this stage make any further comments,” Khazi said.
Read: Bodi's 20-year ban hits some fans for a six
Tsotsobe has not played for the Lions, who will contest the One-Day Cup final with the Cape Cobras at Newlands on Sunday, since the RamSlam T20 competition. Tsotsobe explained his absence from domestic cricket due to fact that “there’s a lot that’s going on in my life”.
""I've spoken to the coach and he’s the one who gave me the time off. I don't have to explain myself to any other person. If the CEO and the coach know, then I think I'm cool."
Cape Argus