The cheerleaders sashaying to the beats during Indian Premier league (IPl) matches are a common sight that also adds glamour to the twenty20 version of cricket. Further investigation in IPl fixing scandal indicated bookies used cheerleaders to learn details and strategies adopted by the particular teams for the match. The cheergirls have become moles of the bookies, who are always on the lookout for details of the match, composition of the team and whether a team winning the 'Toss' would bat first or bowl.
“A bookie exploiting the proximity of the cheergirls to get information about players, is a new phenomenon,” sources said. These girls are part of the stadium and also attend the post match parties in the hotels. The parties normally end late and the bookies are always on the lookout to get a foothold in these parties. Cheergirls come handy to them, owing to their closeness to the players and the team management.
Bookies are curious to know who would be in the final 'playing eleven'. The information that matters to a bookie is that who would be the opening pair and who would be the opening bowlerIJ There are heavy bets if a spinner would bowl the first over. Spinner opening the bowling was witnessed for the first time when New Zealand Captain Martin Crowe entrusted off-spinner Deepak Patel to open the bowling in the 1992 Cricket World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand. Now it has become a fashion of spinners bowling the opening over that still attracts the bookies, who make a killing out of it.
The change of opening partners has also been subjected to heavy betting by the bookie syndicate. 'Who will take the first strike' also involves crores of rupees. Bookies also seek information about the weather, composition of the team, who all would be included if the match is shortened, etc. They are also interested in knowing the batting order, who would bowl during the 'death overs' and whether a team batting first or chasing a huge total would alter the 'batting order' and send a 'pinch hitter' to accelerate the scoring rate.
Sources said that bookies make money out of every development in the match and are willing to buy and entice people who are willing to work for them.
Bookies use cheerleaders for spying and also to elicit information from the players and the team management. Investigators have also noticed the presence of some top notch girls, who are always seen staying near the team rooms.
"These 'honey traps' are employed by the bookies to acquire actionable information from the playing teams," a police official said. Sleuths are now scanning the Call Data Record (CDR) of the cheerleaders hired by all the franchisees and their movement as well. "It will help us in knowing the gamut of their involvement and the penetration of the bookies in the team dressing rooms," the official added.