Mohammad Rizwan has become the latest cricketer to cover a logo on his shirt depicting a proxy sports betting company.
Rizwan tapped up the “Wolf777 news” logo during Multan Sultans’ qualifier against Lahore Qalandars at Gaddafi Stadium.
The captain of Sultans previously had no issues wearing the jersey with the same logo throughout the group stage perhaps unaware of the surrogate nature of the sponsorship.
A quick search of Wolf777 news autocorrects to Wolf777casino.com, an online casino.
Betting is still illegal in Pakistan which has led to a rise in proxy sponsorships for the teams in the Pakistan Super League as well as the Pakistan national cricket team.
Multan Sultans had already issued a statement on the matter to save their skins from any fallout.
“Wolf777 News is a sports website that is trying to compete on a regional level with other sports news websites. Multan Sultans categorically denies the speculation that Wolf777 News has any connection to betting/gambling nor there are links or tabs on its portal to any betting/gambling website. Our association is with Wolf777News only.
“As a responsible entity, we are aware of our obligations and will neither be associated with a partner that promotes betting or gambling nor will support such venture.”
It remains to be seen whether Mohammad Rizwan will be issued any monetary fines for hiding a prominent sponsor’s logo.
The Sultans are not the only team to be supporting such emblems.
Karachi Kings’ association with “1xBat” has come under scrutiny while Lahore Qalandars also showcase a “MelBat” logo while “DafaNews” masquerades for DafaBet sponsors PSL as a whole.
