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Nanavati concludes probe into Harbhajan-Sreesanth incident

The BCCI-appointed commissioner Sudhir Nanavati has concluded his investigation into on-field altercation between Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth

Cricinfo staff
09-May-2008

Sreesanth arrives in Ahmedabad for a meeting with Sudhir Nanavati © AFP
 
The BCCI-appointed commissioner Sudhir Nanavati has concluded his investigation into the on-field altercation between Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth following the match between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians in Mohali on April 25. Nanavati is expected to submit his findings to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, on Monday.
"The investigation is over and now I don't need to talk to any player or official in this case," Nanavati said after meeting both the players on Friday. "I'm satisfied with the answers of both Sreesanth and Harbhajan. I've all the evidence that I need to prepare the report.
"I talked to Harbhajan for one hour and 15 minutes and 30 minutes with Sreesanth. They were quite friendly during the hearing."
Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said Nanavati had also spoken to Farokh Engineer, the match referee officiating during the game. An Ahmedabad-based lawyer, Nanavati is also vice-president of the Gujarat Cricket Association and chairman of the BCCI's finance committee.
Nanavati had earlier said he had been shocked by the video footage of the incident. Harbhajan has already been banned for the rest of the Indian Premier League's first season, after he pleaded guilty at the hearing conducted by Engineer. Besides the ban, Harbhajan, who had been deputing as Mumbai's captain in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, was fined 100% of his match fee and would only be paid by the franchise for the first two games he played in the IPL. Besides Harbhajan, Mumbai coach Lalchand Rajput was fined 50% of his match fee.
The board's three-man disciplinary panel will review the report. The panel comprises Shashank Manohar, the BCCI's president-elect and Chirayu Amin, the president of the Baroda Cricket Association, besides Pawar.