Gujarat: Man who trained farmers for Molipur’s fake ‘IPL’ played club cricket in Russia

AHMEDABAD: The fake ‘IPL’ held in Molipur village had one genuine player who chose to remain behind the scenes and orchestrate the fake matches, reveals the probe by the Mehsana Police. Shoeb Davda, the main accused, used to play for cricket clubs in Russia before he decided to join hands with Efimov, the Russian mastermind, and execute the con caper in India.
Davda remained behind the scenes, training the farmers masquerading as players in postures and techniques of the game. Police sources told TOI that Davda had undergone cricket training at an academy in Meerut before leaving for Russia eight months ago. When he returned to Molipur, he chose the players and umpires and trained them in soft skills and the nitty-gritty of the game. He would also give them a pep talk before every match.
An officer of Mehsana Police said, “Shoeb was into betting and gambling in the village before he shifted to Meerut in March last year. There he enrolled in a cricket coaching academy run by Ashok Chaudhary. He aspired to become a cricketer but chucked the plan and got into betting again.” The officer said that he had gone to Russia on Chaudhary’s invitation in October last year where he played for cricket clubs.
“When he was playing there, he met Asif Mohammed and a Russian named Efimov. They sent him to India so they could hold fake IPL-like cricket matches and bait Russian punters,” the officer said.
Acting on Efimov’s instructions, Mohammed, Chaudhary and Davda organized teams and matches in Molipur. “Davda took just one day to pick the players who were promised Rs 400 per match. But since they were farmers and not cricketers, they needed to be trained so that they looked like genuine players on camera. Before each game, Davda would train them and the ‘umpires’,” the officer said. He taught them to wield the bat, to ball, and to greet players like professional cricketers, said the officer. A team of Mehsana Police have reached Meerut in UP on Thursday where a similar fake cricket league was held.