Former Proteas batsman Gulam Bodi has been sentence to five years in prison after pleading guilty to eight charges of corruption.

Cricket South Africa had imposed a 20-year ban on him for attempting to fix matches during the T20 Challenge in 2015. He was playing for the Lions at the time.

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The 40-year-old is the first person to be imprisoned under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004, which contains a clause that relates directly to corruption in sporting events. It carries a maximum sentence of 15 years, but Bodi received five.

‘I played cricket for 15 years, the sport was my livelihood. I don’t have a degree, any businesses, or anything else to fall back on,’ Bodi told the Saturday Star.

‘It really hurts that people only remember Gulam Bodi the match-fixer, and not Gulam Bodi the cricketer. Now, even the people I hang around with make jokes about it and it hurts. When there is a cricket game on, they will ask me, “what’s the result going to be?” I know they’re joking, but it hurts.

‘I have learnt that no matter how much good you have done, people will only remember the one bad deed. Cricket consumed my life, it was everything to me.’

The hard-hitting left-hander played two ODIs and one T20I in 2007 – and averaged 32.47 during a first-class career that spanned almost two decades. He represented the Delhi Daredevils during the 2012 edition of the Indian Premier League.

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