CBI, IT department take a stride forward

Things were not exactly low-key on the match fixing front on Tuesday but the Central Bureau of Investigation for once, hogged the headlines. CBI sources, talking to a news agency, said they were planning to question a few former Indian captains including Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, who will testify for the first time. The agency is to call Shastri upon his arrival from Colombo. The sources said they will request Shastri to appear before it once he returns to India after completing his assignment as commentator for the ongoing Singer Cup tournament in Sri Lanka.

The sources also said the CBI has so far examined nearly 30 bookies across the country in connection with their alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal. They added that these bookies were examined in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta and Lucknow by the sleuths. Some of the bookies have told the investigators about their modus operandi in fixing the matches. The sources said the agency has not been provided with anything substantial by these bookies.

Meanwhile, the income tax department has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to provide them details of payments made to all players who played for the country in the last ten years. IT sources said they would examine details pertaining to the payments made to the players as it would throw more light on the allegations about the match-fixing issue.

On a separate front, the former South African captain Hansie Cronje, in a surprise move, has been invited to deliver a guest lecture at the Pretoria University. Cronje has been asked to lecture on sports ethics. In a statement from Pretoria, Professor Rene Uys, who is also the spokeswoman of the university, said "Mr Cronje could, as a community service, share his experience of temptation and corruption with students who would gain priceless insight into the nature and mechanics of corruption." She added "It is rare to have the opportunity of studying high profile individuals in scandals of the magnitude of 'Hansiegate' and such opportunities should thus be grasped." However, no remuneration will be paid to Cronje.

Elsewhere in Colombo, the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Tauqir Zia has said he was keen to maintain a cordial relationship with the BCCI. The PCB chief reiterated that both Pakistan and India were committed to wipe out the match-fixing menace and had no different views about on it. "How they tackle the matter is their internal affair, how we do it is our internal matter. There should be no ambiguity about this," he added.

Meanwhile, denials too made the rounds. The former President of the International Cricket Council Jagmohan Dalmiya denied having stated that some players were involved in match fixing. In a press release in Calcutta, Dalmiya said, "I have been quoted wrongly by the website. The entire statement is distorted and contradictory."