Vadodara: Just a decade ago, he was seen as a promising name in cricketing circles and was even considered potential India team material. Former Baroda Ranji cricketer Rishi Arothe‘s slide from a talented all-rounder to a man accused in multiple cheating and fraud cases has stunned many in the cricketing world.Rishi Arothe, 30, the son of former Indian women’s team coach Tushar Arothe, was arrested by Mumbai cybercrime police on Friday for his alleged role in routing money scammed from victims to cybercriminals. In the latest case, a senior citizen was extorted of Rs 32 lakh in Feb by cybercriminals posing as police officers. The fraudsters threatened her with legal action, claiming her sim card had been used by a terrorist involved in the Pahalgam attack. Arothe was among the seven people arrested in the case. This is not the first offence registered against him. In March 2024, Arothe was accused of cheating a budding cricketer by promising him a slot in an Indian Premier League bowling camp. Mahendra Mochi, a resident of Panchmahal district, lodged a complaint at Raopura police station, alleging that Arothe took lakhs of rupees from him promising that his son would be selected for an IPL bowling camp. When nothing materialized, Arothe allegedly refused to return the money. In the same month, a Vadodara businessman filed a cheating complaint against Arothe and three others at Manjalpur police station. Gaurav Nadkar alleged that Arothe took Rs 24 lakh as an investment in a bar and casino project in Goa but failed to return the amount. Vadodara special operations group had detained Arothe in 2024 after seizing Rs 1 crore in cash from his house in the city. He was summoned to explain the source of the money but failed to appear, following which police traced him to Maharashtra. In Sep 2025, Arothe was arrested by Hyderabad police after his name surfaced in a Rs 32 lakh stock fraud case. He allegedly converted scammed money into cryptocurrency and routed it to criminals abroad. Arothe played five first-class matches for Baroda between 2015 and 2019, taking 12 wickets in his Ranji Trophy career. He also featured in 45 domestic T20 matches. In 2013, he was selected for the India U-19 team that toured Australia.
