Ramdas Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment voiced his concerns about the ICC Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan, stating that the match was fixed.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Athawale said that the way Indian cricketers played in the final of ICC Champions Trophy 2017, it proves that the match was fixed.
“How could the cricketers, who played so well in the entire tournament, not perform in the final match (in London on June 18)?,” he said.
He blamed India’s star cricketers Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh for not performing on the big day.
“In the match against Pakistan, someone like Virat Kohli who scores a century so often and other accomplished players like Yuvraj Singh, who has scored so many runs in the past, looked like they were playing to lose,” he added.
“It appears that the match was fixed and we demand an inquiry into it,” he concluded.
It is true that India were outplayed by Pakistan in all three departments of the game, in the final of ICC Champions Trophy 2017, but for a union minister to say that the match was fixed is a massive allegation. Athawale has surely sparked a controversy and he will now have to either defend his statement or take it.
