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Azharuddin accused Former captain named in report; Dev exonerated
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin was accused on Wednesday of fixing matches in a report by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Several other international players were named in connection with the biggest scandal ever to hit the game. "Mohammad Azharuddin has fixed matches/performance for a bookie 'M.K. Gupta' alias 'M.K.' alias 'John' and big-time punters Ajay Gupta and Associates, with the help of Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia," the CBI said. But the 162-page report exonerated another former captain Kapil Dev, who quit as national coach last month after denying match-fixing accusations from former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar. Four other Indian players were named in the report along with Azharuddin, who led his country to 14 test victories between 1990 and 1998 and captained the team in the 1999 World Cup in England. It also said Prabhakar was close to several bookmakers, and Ajay Sharma had introduced other Indian players to Gupta, who runs a jewellery showroom in New Delhi. The Indian players have previously denied match-fixing accusations. Other former captains named The report said Gupta either offered or paid money to nine non-Indian players, including former West Indies skipper Brian Lara, former England captain Alec Stewart and Australia batsman Mark Waugh. Also named were Australia's Dean Jones, South Africa's Hansie Cronje, Sri Lanka's Aravinda d'Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga, New Zealand's Martin Crowe and Pakistan's Salim Malik. The CBI investigation began in May after the sacking of former South Africa captain Cronje, who was subsequently banned for life after admitting supplying information to bookmakers. In April, Delhi police named Cronje and three other South African players in connection with fixing matches during a one-day series in India in March. The CBI report said there were clear signs that an "underworld mafia" had started taking interest in the betting racket and could be expected to take overall control of the business if not checked immediately and with a firm hand. "Both inducements and threats to players are bound to increase in view of the big money involved in gambling on cricket and the entry of the underworld," the report concluded. 'Major corrective steps need to be taken to put cricket back on rails." Cricket board castigated The CBI also castigated the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for failing to investigate allegations "which were bound to have been within their knowledge." "It defies credulity to believe the apex body was oblivious to such rampant match-fixing and, therefore, did not find the need to investigate thoroughly the results of matches which are patently questionable," it said. BCCI Honorary Secretary Jaywant Lele told Reuters in Bombay he doubted the report's conclusions. "There may be one or two black sheep among the players who may be involved but we are not aware of it. You need 11 players to fix a match and it isn't possible to do it in India," he said. The board's president complained bitterly about allegations that the BCCI was aware of match-fixing but did not investigate. "What is the evidence that we were aware of it?" asked A.C. Muthiah. "I believe it is just conjecture." The BCCI asked a former judge two years ago to look into match-fixing allegations in Indian cricket after Prabhakar's charges against Dev. The Chandrachud report, made public early this year, said it did not find any evidence of match-fixing. The BCCI said any action would be taken under its code of conduct, which says players or team officials found guilty of match-fixing face a life ban. The CBI report said no criminal charges could be filed against those named "because of the nebulous position of law in this regard" and because it was unlikely any investigating agency could obtain sufficient legal evidence. However, Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dindsa said he had sent the report to the law ministry for its views. "Whether it is cricket or any other sport it is important to cleanse them if there is anything wrong going on," he said. "Whoever is guilty must be punished. Those innocent must not be hounded."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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