An IPL player suspected of manipulating matches: report

With allegations of match-fixing in cricket flying thick and fast, it has now been revealed that a player "under-performed" in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is under the scanner.

A media report here claimed that "a leading batsman had to be moved up the order to prevent him manipulating matches".

"Two IPL officials from India independently verified that a leading batsman had played so suspiciously that they could not explain his behaviour," The Australian reported Tuesday.

"He has been under the scanner for a while now," an IPL official, who did not wish to be named, was quoted as saying by the report.

"He consistently under-performed and often appeared uninterested or distracted."

The suspected batsman performed dubiously by scoring slowly towards the end of the innings when it should have been the opposite, the report said.

The other IPL official revealed that IPL franchise owners often complained about matches being "rigged" and claimed that the player in question had to be moved up the order for the good of the team.

Neither official could say if the player was being monitored by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption and security unit. The ACSU does not comment on its investigations.