BCCI to hire foreign coach, confirms Muthiah

There seems to be some relief to the ongoing crisis to find a coach for the Indian team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president AC Muthiah has confirmed that the board is looking for a foreign coach. Talking to Gulf News in Dubai on Friday, Muthiah said "We are looking for a foreign coach. Three names are seriously under consideration." The message directed to the current Indian coach Kapil Dev is an indication that he step down.

Muthiah who is in Sharjah to attend the Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) meeting said he was currently not in a position to reveal the names of the shortlisted foreign coaches as they were only under consideration. When asked if New Zealand's John Wright's was in the forefront, Muthiah clarified "not just Wright, but we have three more names on our list. We will take a decision on this matter only after hearing from them."

Denying reports that Madan Lal was the likely interim replacement for Kapil, Muthiah said "We have not considered any names nor decided to have someone for the post especially when discussions on this matter are going on." He said the Indian team also needed a manager for the forthcoming tours and a decision would be taken during the Board's AGM in Chennai on September 29.

Muthiah had earlier in the week said that a decision on Kapil would be taken after he had another sitting with him. This would be taken before the conditioning camp which is scheduled to start in Chennai on September 14, Muthiah said.

The BCCI chief also said a decision on India's tour of Pakistan would be decided during the Chennai AGM. He said "we will discuss the matter regarding the tour during the meeting and let the Pakistan board know about our decision by the month-end. I will be meeting (PCB chief) Tauqir Zia and have talks with him." Only a day before, Zia had said that PCB was willing to tour India if invited.

During the course of the interview, Muthiah touched upon the topic of match-fixing and its effect on the team and the board's relationship with the government. On the effect of the scandal on the team, Muthiah said ''We are coming out of the bad phase and as you know the emphasis in on youngsters. The boys are concentrating on the forthcoming tours and preparations are on in full swing. In fact, we are currently planning ahead for the 2003 World Cup."

Replying to a question on the BCCI's relationship with the government, Muthiah said "The board has no problem in dealing with the government and there has been no difference of opinion. In fact, we have been discussing many matters lately and the relationship has been cordial."

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has given a likely date for the submission of the interim report. Sources close to the CBI said the report on making players responsible towards the game would be submitted to the Sports Minister SS Dhindsa on September 29.

The sources said a final shape to the report is being by the officials. They said the informal chat with Tendulkar was an effort to tie some loose ends for the report. Talking about the chat with the CBI, Tendulkar said it was just a polite inquiry and there were no names discussed in particular. He added "since I was the captain in some of the matches which were under the scrutiny of the CBI, it was natural that they had to have a meeting with me.'' Tendulkar also volunteered to interact with the CBI if they needed him in future.

In a related development, agency sleuths recently re-examined Ajay Jadeja and queried him on certain points which Jadeja readily gave. Meanwhile, Kapil Dev again denied the allegations made by Manoj Prabhakar that it was Kapil who offered him Rs.25 lakh to under perform in a match in Sri Lanka in 1994.

With all these developments, perhaps it is just a matter of time before one sees the curtain being pulled down on the betting and match fixing drama in India which has dragged on for more than five months now. Or will it continue to drag on?