M Selvakumar, the owner of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) team Salem Spartans, has accused former cricketer Robin Bist and three others of duping him of Rs 6.10 crore. The matter is currently under trial in the lower court, and a couple of arrests have been reported.
According to a First Information Report (FIR) filed by Selvakumar at the CCB-1 police station in Chennai last year, Bist and another cricketer, Akash Sumra, introduced Selvakumar to Satish Kumar and Nitin Khokhar in January 2023. The duo allegedly convinced Selvakumar that they owned shares in a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team and offered him a 25% stake in return for an investment of Rs 22 crore. Selvakumar claims they presented documents and financial projections to make the offer seem genuine.
Selvakumar, convinced by the presentations and assurances from all four accused, made an initial cash payment of Rs 10 lakh, followed by multiple RTGS transfers to accounts allegedly belonging to the accused and their associates. The FIR also mentions a Dubai-based cricket agent named Sam, introduced as an investment advisor to facilitate the transaction.
After realizing he had been duped, Selvakumar demanded his money back but faced threats from one of the accused. Left with no option, he approached the police. When contacted, Bist expressed shock at being named in the FIR and claimed he only introduced Selvakumar to the other accused and cooperated with the police investigation.
Despite the ongoing case, Bist, a former India A player with over 100 first-class matches who has also played for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL), was surprisingly re-bought by the Salem Spartans this year. However, Selvakumar clarified that he will be requesting the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) to release Bist from the team.
The matter is under trial, and a couple of arrests have been reported.