Azhar: no bookie has ever approached me

When there is any talk about match fixing and betting in India, the first name that comes up is that of Mohammed Azharuddin. With widespread allegations appearing in everything from national newspapers to weekly magazines, Azharuddin is not a happy man. In response to an in depth feature carried by the Outlook magazine, Azhar issued the following statement at Mumbai:

"The Outlook magazine alleges that the crime branch tapped Bookmakers phone in Mumbai in November 1997 and recorded players conversations during Titan Cup Match. Let me make the record correct that the Titan Cup match was in 1996. That means the crime branch allegedly recorded the conversations one year after the match. These are self contradictory statements in itself. If the players had fixed the matches, how is it that the Titan Cup series was won by India convincingly? And if winning matches is an offence then all players are guilty"

Continuing on that note of veiled sarcasm, Azhar adds "The Outlook magazine alleges that calls were made by bookies to the Indian Dressing Room immediately after the toss. This statement cannot stand the test of reason because there are no phones provided in the dressing room. Furthermore, players are not allowed to carry mobile phones during matches. The Editor should have verified these facts before allowing his so called reporters to run riot and publish baseless allegations."

Azhar is clearly angered by allegations leveled against him. He has chosen to remain predominantly silent until now. However, he continues "The next allegation is that a well-wisher gifted me with a Mercedes Benz SL 500 car. I say that a car is not a toy that one can carry in his pocket or bag and bring to India. The Editor of the magazine should know by now that there is a Government organisation called the Customs Department and one has to pay duty called Customs Duty when you bring an imported car to India."

Even the dinners that the former captain went to were under scrutiny and to this Azhar countered "Regarding paid dinners, the only dinner that I attended during the Sharjah tour was the CBFS official function dinner."

Azhar also chose to talk about the various complaints leveled by former coaches "Mr. Raj Singh Dungarpur who was recently interviewed by Star Channel pointed out that a number of complaints were received by him during his tenure of three years as president of the Board. He said that all those complaints were thoroughly investigated and he found no iota of truth in any one of them."

Coming to the crux of the matter, Azhar said "I deny all allegations as false, untrue, baseless and with no substance whatsoever. I say that no bookie has ever approached me or my team mates to the best of my knowledge. I am a dedicated player and the game of cricket is my love and passion. My advice to such magazines is to stop maligning me which they have been doing for the last number of years for no reason."

As a parting shot Azhar concluded "Let the competent authorities do their job." This is the first strong response the public has heard from a player who is in the thick of the controversy. How far it will go in clearing the air is anybody's guess.