Lawrence Bishnoi and Jay Shah. Image Credits: X/AFP
Canada Cricket finds itself in a pickle months after returning home from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka, as dark clouds of match-fixing allegations hover over the players and board.
In a significant development around the North Americans, the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit has launched a probe, suspecting external influence in their Group D clash against New Zealand. Despite an expected loss to the eventual finalists, certain instances during the match drew negative attention from the ACU.
Shockingly, as ICC’s investigation continues, a certain Lawrence Bishnoi gang, from Punjab and Haryana, is learnt to be involved in the fixing scandal according to the latest revelations.
Lawrence Bishnoi Gang involved in Canada’s match-fixing scandal
Just hours before the official probe by the ICC ACU was announced, a documentary aired by The Fifth Estate revealed the involvement of some high-profile names in Cricket Canada. Additionally, some unnamed individuals, with the idea of what was happening behind the scenes, also spoke of the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang’s involvement in the matter.
According to the documentary, the Gang members have openly threatened the board as well as the team members and their family safety if they did not comply with their instructions and influence the outcomes of the match.
“So, they straight up said this wording to him, that ‘You must take care of these guys. These guys should not get dropped from the team. If they do, you are in trouble,” CBC quoted an unnamed source, who spoke to the team member.
It is known that the said threat from gang members was given at a restaurant in Surrey, leaving players concerned. The players have also remained silent on the matters, despite their distress, considering an official’s home saw several shooting incidents.
“I think people in the cricketing world are not any different from the general population, and when fear comes into the picture. They’re very, very disheartened and scared, so they don’t want to talk about it," Cricket Canada Insider told CBC.
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Captain Dilpreet Bajwa under the pump
As per the documentary, Canada skipper Dilpreet Bajwa was actively involved in the spot-fixing incident at the World Cup. The 23-year-old was named as the team captain just weeks ahead of the competition — an appointment which raised eyebrows, as he leapfrogged several seniors for the position.
According to a speaker in the documentary, who did not reveal his identity, Bajwa was taking orders from outside and picking players accordingly.
The most notable incident of Bajwa’s involvement in spot-fixing came in the second innings of the Canada vs New Zealand match on February 17 in Chennai.
Following Yuvraj Samra’s 110(65) in the first innings, Canada posted 173/4 in 20 overs. The Kiwis found themselves 35/2 in 4 overs, when Bajwa shockingly came in to bowl the 5th over and immediately bowled a no-ball. He went on to concede 15 runs in the over, and the Blackcaps carried the momentum to chase the score in 15.1 overs by 8 wickets.
After the match, Bajwa was also summoned by the ACU for his suspicious decision proving detrimental to the team.
Canada’s forgettable T20 World Cup 2026
Canada was slated in Group D of the T20 World Cup 2026, and the expectations were never too high, considering the presence of South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan in the competition.
Despite showing some promise in the first match, they lost to SA by 57 runs but did not carry any positives and were defeated by UAE by 5 wickets and faced two more big defeats against NZ and Afghanistan.
By the end, they finished bottom of the table with 4 losses and a net run-rate of -2.426. They were among the worst teams in the competition.
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