Ajay Sharma named as go between

Just as the drama over the Hansie Cronje match fixing affair has reached fever pitch, senior Delhi cricketer Ajay Sharma has been named as the conduit between former Indian captain Md Azharuddin and bookmakers in Delhi.

These reports have appeared in the 22 April issue of "India Today", a weekly newsmagazine. The magazine claims that Ajay Sharma, a former Indian player, was the link between bookies and Indian cricketers and points fingers specifically at Azharuddin. The story however, is based entirely on quotes from unqualified police sources.

The claims are based on the fact that Ajay Sharma called two mobile numbers frequently that are allegedly Azharuddin's. One of those numbers was used by Azharuddin in Sharjah and the other in India. "India Today" also claims that Ajay Sharma placed calls to Delhi bookies more than once, in the same period.

Police at the capital had been keeping watch on a select group of cricketers after the scandal over match-fixing broke. It is learnt that Ajay Sharma has obtained four months leave from his employers in Delhi and has been untraceable since the 20 April 2000. It is likely that he has left the country.