How the match-fixing drama unfolded - Part 11

The lawyer of former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin says the cricketer, banned for life after being accused of match-fixing, will challenge the decision in court. Former Indian Law Minister Hans Raj Bharadwaj, who is representing Azharuddin, says his client wanted him to contest the life ban imposed by the BCCI. "The case is almost ready and will be filed soon," Bharadwaj says, adding it will be put before the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Azharuddin's home city of Hyderabad. Bharadwaj says the entire investigation into the match-fixing scandal in India had been "without any legal procedure." He says Azharuddin has been made a scapegoat. "The real culprits are the big wigs who run the game. I am surprised that the BCCI's role in match-fixing has not been investigated." Bharadwaj adds the right procedure should have been an independent inquiry by a sitting judge, as was done in South Africa where judge Edwin King probed the Hansie Cronje affair. "Neither Madhavan nor the CBI have a legal standing," he says. "We will question the legal credentials of the people who have investigated the case."

In India, CBI director RK Raghavan believes there is a lot more to the cricket betting and match-fixing scandal than his agency has found and with further probe it hopes to "stike gold sometime". He says "Probably there are more characters involved in this drama," an obvious reference to alleged under-world connections and adds that "two names which came to notice are of Abu Saleem and Anees Ibrahim," Raghavan says in an interview to a weekly sports magazine "On their significance we will work further." He says there is a nexus and money played a part, and "in certain matches there were certain bizzare happenings." According to him, Mohammed Azharuddin, who has been slapped with a life ban by the BCCI, had confirmed that he had been asked to "do" some matches which the former India captain said he refused. Asked about the BCCI's criticism of the CBI report, Raghavan said the Board is entitled to its views. "BCCI has its views but we have a right to differ. It has a right to differ too." He says "We have suggested they impose a rigid code of conduct, one which can be implemented. They should install a monitoring mechanism to counter this problem. It will be naive on our part to think it will not happen again," the CBI boss says. Raghavan also says the clinching factors in the CBI probe were the confessions of some players. "Probably they wanted to unburden themselves. I must say to their credit they unburdened themselves and gave us facts which led us on to some persons," he said. According to him, the submission of the report was not the end of the sordid saga. "The inquiry continues. We have to keep an eye on the nexus between the players and underworld. We have one or two names, possibly there are other names, possibly they may give other leads. It is just possible we may strike gold sometime."

Former Indian captain Mohd. Azharuddin decides to contest the life ban slapped on him by the BCCI in the court. The decision, which was widely expected, is announced by his counsel and former Indian Law Minister HR Bharadwaj in New Delhi. Bharadwaj says "He will move the court. But it is yet to be decided whether he will go to the Andhra Pradesh High Court or the district court there." He adds that Azharuddin's legal advisors were working out the details. Also contemplating to move the court to challenge the five year ban imposed on them are former players Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar. Talking to a news agency in New Delhi, Prabhakar says that he will first appeal to the board against the ban imposed on him, adding "If I fail to get justice there, I will knock at the court's door."

Former Indian captain Md Azharuddin says people are taking advantage of his silence, adding he is pained over speculative reports involving his name in the media. "Every other day there is one story or the other on me. People are trying to take advantage of my silence, Azharuddin, banned for life by the BCCI, tells a news agency in Hyderabad. "These reports may be the handiwork of some vested interests to malign my image." Azharuddin has remained elusive to the media after being named by the CBI in the match fixing scandal.

In New Delhi, the CBI begins a full fledged investigation into the nexus between the underworld and some of the leading players and administrators. The CBI director RK Raghavan holds a series of meetings with officials of other security and intelligence agencies for data on some of the underworld elements. A probe into this nexus and its ramifications on national security is being conducted both within India and abroad, according to sources. Even though the nexus had been unearthed during the probe on betting and match fixing, the dimensions are yet to be fully established. Without disclosing any names, the probe had fairly established the links of a "few Indian players" with the underworld. The CBI says it would cast its net wider this time to get to the botoom of the issue.

The Cape Town High Court orders a commission investigating corruption in South African cricket to delay the resumption of its public hearings until February 19. The commission had planned to resume the hearings on January 25, but lawyers acting for former captain Hansie Cronje were not available for that date, and took legal action after the commission refused their request for a postponement of the examination. The court rules that it is Cronje's constitutional right to be represented by his lawyers at the hearings. The commission says it would not appeal the ruling.

Indian Sports Minister Uma Bharti tells Parliament that three cricketers are likely to be stripped of India's most prestigious sporting award because of their links with match fixing. The Arjuna awards for sporting excellence may be taken back from former captain Md Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar. "We have written to these three players for their stand and will take necessary action regarding withdrawing the Arjuna awards," she announces in Parliament. Bharti also clears the BCCI of any wrong doing in the scandal. "There does not seem to be anything to suggest the role of the BCCI authorities in match fixing," she says. Bharti also says she has written to the Law Ministry to find out if any further action could be taken against those involved in match fixing. She adds that government would consider bringing in new legislation to deal with such crimes since there is no specific law at present under which the players could be charged.

The International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption unit (ACU) team led by Sir Paul Condon searches the premises of ICC in London and Monaco in connection with the alleged malpractice in awarding of television rights. This search is to help the CBI, with whom the ACU had held discussions last week in Delhi. It is reported that Sir Malcolm Gray, President of the ICC, and Lord Griffiths, Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission, are both aware of the situation, and Gray personally authorises the search. The ACU was acting in advance of a request from the CBI in India, which is compiling a report into allegations of malpractice in the awarding of TV rights in relation to the 1998 ICC Knockout Tournament. An ICC media release confirms that the ACU obtained some documents from the ICC offices.

Reports from India indicate that former captain Mohd. Azharuddin, who has been banned for life from playing by the BCCI, will decide the future course of action after Ramzan (December 28). Former Union Law Minister and his lawyer HR Bharadwaj says this in New Delhi on Sunday. Bharadwaj says "I have been counseling Azharuddin from the time he was named as one of the main players involved in fixing matches." He also claims that Azhar was initially reluctant to appear before BCCI's anti-corruption commissioner K Madhavan and relented only after he had advised him to do so.

ECB chairman Lord Maclaurin, reacting to the King Commission's recommendation on tapping phones and checking e-mails of cricketers, says that the proposal is a Draconian measure to try and weed out the remaining offenders in the long-running corruption inquiry. Criticising the report, MacLaurin said "My first reaction is one of great sadness. I'm appalled really that we're descending into something like that. I would be very, very loath to enter into anything like that at all. We do have a problem in the game - I think people are working very hard to eradicate it - but I would like to think there was a certain trust between the administrators and the players." He adds: "Cricket for me is not like that. It is a game that you trust people implicitly; it's a great game of great honour and great integrity - and I think that there are a few people who have transgressed. But in the whole scheme of things I do think there is trust and honour in the game of cricket and I would not go for lie detectors and anything like that; that would be very sad."

Income Tax authorities in India say they will be issuing notices this week to five cricketers for filing of block returns in the wake of appraisals made of seizures during recent country-wide searches. Highly-placed sources in the IT department say that the assessing officer of Income Tax would be issuing notices to Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma, Ajay Jadeja and Nikhil Chopra whose appraisal reports had already been sent to him. The appraisal report of Kapil Dev will also be completed this week and sent to him. The players would have to file in their block returns for the period 1990-2000 within 30 days, the sources add. The appraisal report of Navjot Singh Sidhu has also been completed and sent to the Ludhiana Directorate from where he will be issued notice for submission of the block returns this week, according to the sources. The IT sources say the appraisal report of Md Azharuddin has been also completed by the Hyderabad Directorate and notice is likely to be issued to him soon. The sources say this is the last opportunity for the players to clear themselves and defaulters would attract a fine of 100 to 300 per cent of the income involved.

CBI sources in India say the agency "would not act in haste" in prosecuting two cricketers - Md Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma - under the prevention of Corruption Act. CBI sources say they will wait for the final report of the IT authorities before initiating any action on the two cricketers, who are public servants.

A security guard at the residence of former Indian all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar in South Delhi, is allegedly manhandled by a group of hooligans in the wee hours of today. According to the guard Kanshi Ram Sharma, seven persons approached him at 2:15 am (IST), enquired about Prabhakar and "threatened to kill me and my boss." Sharma says when he tried to blow his whistle, the miscreants beat him before fleeing. Sharma registers a complaint with the police, who say they are looking into the matter. The attack comes nearly a month after a group of Shiv Sainiks pelted stones at a beauty clinic run by Prabhakar's wife in south Delhi protesting against the cricketer's alleged involvement in matchfixing. "This is the beginning of our crusade against corruption. The corrupt are traitors and they should be hanged," Sena's Delhi unit chief Jai Bhagwan Goyal had said at that time. Police when asked on Saturday whether the hooligans could be from the Delhi unit of Shiv Sena, reply that they are probing that angle also.

Former Indian captain Ajay Jadeja says he intends to appeal in court against his punishment after making a last-ditch appeal before the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Participating in Star TV's `Janata Ki Adalat' programme, Jadeja, when questioned why he has not approached the courts if he was innocent, says that the CBI had not registered a case in court. The CBI went to the BCCI, who have made a code of conduct of their own and now they have announced a punishment and have given the players a final chance to appeal. "So I cannot approach the court yet, as I still have an appeal pending. The day my appeal is turned down, I will definitely go to court and fight my case." On charges about using political connections, Jadeja said, "I would say I was punished only because the media highlighted my political connections." Jadeja reveals that former Indian captain Md Azahruddin had told him during the Disciplinary Committee hearings, that he never told CBI that Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia had helped him to fix matches. He says he does not know Kishan Kumar and has never spoken to him during matches. He acknowledges acquaintance with Rajesh Kalra and Ratan Mehta socially, who he says visited the same health club and restaurants as him.

ICC's anti-corruption chief Sir Paul Condon seeks a meeting with former Pakistan skippers Salim Malik and Asif Iqbal in connection with the matchfixing scandal. Condon's request will, however, be scanned by the Pakistan Cricket Board in their emergency meeting after taking legal opinion from the board's lawyer. The PCB meanwhile informs Condon that they have no jurisdiction over Asif Iqbal and that he would have to examine Iqbal, who now lives in the United Arab Emirates, on his own initiative. Sources say Condon has requested for the meeting with Malik to be held in Pakistan, as he was aware that since the former captain was placed on the exit control list, he could not leave the country. Malik, who is contemplating to settle in Canada, has said he would first get his name cleared before thinking of migrating.

The Australian Cricket Board says it doubts the ability of Australia's courts to criminally prosecute a cricketer involved in match fixing. ACB public relations general manager Brendan McClements tells a South Australian state parliamentary committee there appeared to be little action that could be taken against corrupt bookmakers. McClements says should an Australian player be involved in a match-fixing scandal similar to that involving former South African captain Hansie Cronje, there would be a community expectation on criminal prosecution. But he says legal advice given to the ACB indicates it would be difficult for such an action to succeed. McClements also says bookmakers involved in matchfixing may escape prosecution both from within the sport and outside it.

Judge Edwin King, probing the Hansie Cronje corruption case, recommends random lie detector tests for South Africa's cricketers, room searchers and the monitoring of telephone calls to eliminate attempts at match fixing. The judge includes the proposals in an interim report on his probe into corruption in cricket. King says in a 19-page report that the UCBSA should monitor all players' phone calls and e-mail messages because up to now access to players has been "too free and easy." He also recommends that the luggage and rooms of all touring players be searched for bribes and that they should consent to taking random lie detector tests. He admits these are "somewhat drastic proposals." King says that only cellular phones issued to players by the UCBSA should be allowed and "details of calls made and received should be available so as to allow monitoring by the UCBSA" and adds "possession of an unauthorised mobile telephone should be a punishable offence." King, a retired judge with a passion for cricket, says he wants to restore to cricket the culture of fair play and hopes that other countries will adopt some of his suggestions as "we all have the same objection, we want to kill this monster."

In India, the income-tax department sends its appraisal report of five players to the income-tax commissioner and assessing officers for issuing notices to the cricketers. IT sources say the "appraisal reports" of four of these players - Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma, Ajay Jadeja and Nikhil Chopra, based in Delhi - have been sent to an income tax commissioner, who will be assisted by two assessing officers, for speedy disposal of the cases. They add that the appraisal report of the fifth, Navjot Sidhu, has been sent to the Ludhiana directorate from where he would be issued notice for submission of the block returns. On Kapil Dev, the sources say a similar report will be completed soon and sent to the assessing officer. They add that the orders and summons to be issued to the players would be based on the appraisal reports. On the others, namely former Indian captain Mohd. Azharuddin, former ICC chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, WorldTel's Mark Mascerenhas and BCCI treasurer Kishore Rungta, the sources say the appraisal reports would be completed by the respective zonal directorates and sent to assessing officers for further action.

ICC anti corruption commissioner Sir Paul Condon pledges to eradicate abuses from the game and pays tribute to a pioneering Indian probe into match fixing. "We are determined to leave no stone unturned in investigating these allegations," he says concerning the findings of the CBI which last month named nine foreign and five local players in the match fixing scandal. "As a result, we have been working to establish whether this evidence can be uncovered," Sir Paul tells a news conference in New Delhi. He says the ICC probe into malpractices would reach far and wide. "If there are guilty cricketers, then they have a great deal to fear," he says at the end of his trip to India. He adds that his team has been successful in amassing new information during the talks in India. He stresses the probe team is in India to gather information on the overseas players named by the CBI in the scandal. "We are not in India to investigate Indian cricket or cricketers. We are here to share information and take forward the investigations in the allegations against foreign players in the CBI report," he says. Condon concludes that the task which lies before the ICC was a coordinated effort against corruption in the game. "Now our collective challenge is to look at the overseas players but we are into very early stages in our investigations." says Condon.

British police investigating the alleged attempted bribery of former international Chris Lewis arrest a 33-year-old London man. The man, who has not been named, is helping police with their inquiries at a central London police station, according to Metropolitan police. It is understood the arrested man is not a player or cricket official.

In India, a criminal case is registered by the police against former captain Md Azharuddin and batsman Ajay Jadeja for allegedly fixing the one day match between India and South Africa in Rajkot in 1996. The Rajkot commissioner of police, Sudhir Sinha says a case for "cheating and criminal conspiracy" has been registered on a complaint lodged by a spectator, Sanjay Vyas, under two separate sections of the Indian Penal Code.

In India, the Sports Minister Uma Bharati says the government is proposing some changes in provisions of law to incorporate issues like match fixing. "Changes in the law will have to be made definitely. Some suggestions have been made to the law ministry," Bharati tells reporters after meeting members of the ICC team, visiting India in connection with the investigations into match fixing. "There is no clarity in the law on the issue of match fixing as nobody visualised that such a thing could ever happen. Now the time has come to incorporate the necessary changes in the law," Bharti says.

The ICC anti-corruption commissioner Sir Paul Condon meets Indian detectives in New Delhi to discuss their probe into match fixing by Indian and overseas players. Sir Paul, accompanied by Greg Mellick, investigator of the Australian Cricket Board, New Zealand official Tim Gresson and Sri Lankan official Desmond Fernando, holds talks in CBI headeuqarters. "We will comment on the issue tomorrow" Sir Paul tells reporters after the meeting. CBI sources say Sir Paul's team sought details and methods adopted by the agency to collect evidence during its six month long investigation into match fixing and betting by Indian and foreign cricketers and officials. "Our talks were detailed and we provided the visiting team members with answers to the questions they asked," the sources say.

Pursuing his investigation into the betting and match fixing scandal, the BCCI anti-corruption commissioner K Madhavan examines Test off spinner Nikhil Chopra in Chennai. Speaking to reporters, he says Chopra was with him from 10 am to 12.30 pm and his statements were recorded. Madhavan says Chopra gave him all the information he had asked for. The bowler also hands over some documents for his perusal. Madhavan says he would submit the report to the BCCI president AC Muthiah "extremely soon." Speaking about Chopra's mood, Madhavan says he found him "relaxed. I got the impression that he had a feeling he would get justice. He looked comfortable. He did not contradict anything that he had said earlier." But Madhavan adds that Chopra's testimony did not throw any fresh lead on any other players.

The ICC anti-corruption commissioner Sir Paul Condon says that he will probe Indian charges of match fixing against national players in other countries. Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Condon says he hopes to make substantial progress before the next World Cup tournament in South Africa in 2003. "Our task is to follow up on allegations and gather evidence in areas over which the CBI has no jurisdiction," says Condon in the southern Indian city. The CBI had named five Indian and nine foreign players, besides former Indian physio Ali Irani as involved in betting and match fixing. Condon is visiting India with Greg Mellick, special investigator of the ACB, New Zealand official Tim Gresson and Sri Lankan official Desmond Fernando. "We are here to gather and share information with the Indian authorities to carry the investigation into this obnoxious practice forward," says Condon. He adds that the ICC probe would be a global exercise. "We will be meeting with key figures of the Indian Cricket Board and the CBI. With their help, we hope to take our global investigation forward. This is not a witch hunt or frivolous inquiry into the business affairs of the cricketers. It is an investigation into matters that are against cricketing ethics and actitities," he says. He says he hopes to submit a report by April next year on "how to minimuse corruption in cricket and maximise protection for players against corruption." He adds that the ICC probe has no time frame and will go on as long as it takes. Before meeting reporters, Condon has a closed door meeting with Indian Cricket Board AC Muthiah and other officials in Chennai before proceeding to New Delhi to meet with officials from the CBI and the Sports Ministry.

Former West Indian captain Clive Lloyd will lead a three member team to probe the allegations of match fixing in tournaments organised by the CBFS in Sharjah. Abdul Rehman Bukhatir, who presides over the CBFS says the other members of the investigation team will include a lawyer and a senior police official from Sharjah. "There have been various allegations against our organisation but no one has substantiated this with evidence and we want them to prove these charges," Bukhatir is quoted as saying. "Even the CBI in India has named Sharjah in their match fixing report. We know we are clean and therefore a probe by an independent panel," he adds. Bukhatir says the probe would be completed in two months with the committee starting its work in the new year. He however denies there is any pressure from the ICC or other quarters to institute a probe.

The Indian Minister of State for Sports Pon Radhakrishnan says that the government is examining a proposal to freeze the assets of Md Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma who have been banned for life by the BCCI for the their involvement in match fixing and having nexus with bookies. He says the government has sought additional particulars from the BCCI in this regard.

BCCI anti corruption commissioner K Madhavan says he will examine former Indian coaches Ajit Wadekar and Kapil Dev and off spinner Nikhil Chopra in the betting and match fixing allegations. Madhavan, who is in Chennai to hold discussions with the ICC investigation team led by Sir Paul Condon, says "I will submit my observations on Chopra to the BCCI within three days." He says that though Wadekar, Kapil Dev and Chopra had been cleared by the CBI, the BCCI had advised him to examine them for any further information on the allegations. Meanwhile, Condon and his team along with Madhavan, hold discussions with BCCI president AC Muthiah in Chennai.

Desmond Fernando, who is investigating allegations against former Sri Lankan captains Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva, says he will meet two Indian ministers this week after bookmaker Mukesh Gupta refuses to co operate with the probe. The Sri Lankan Cricket Board says in a statement in Colombo, "Having being informed that Mr Gupta has refused to speak with anyone on the issue, Mr Fernando will meet with India's minister of sports as well as the minister of law." Fernando, who has been given a month deadline by the Sri Lankan Board to investigate the allegations contained in a report by the CBI, says he may need more time.

Lawyers for Hansie Cronje lodge a court application to overturn a life ban imposed by the UCBSA for fixing matches. The UCBSA responds by saying it will defend the ban in court. Cronje's attorney Leslie Sackstein says from Bloemfontein that a 100-page document had been filed with the Pretoria high court seeking to declare the ban as unlawful. "We have always held the view that what they did was unlawful," Sackstein says. But UCBSA spokeswoman Bronwyn Wilkinson says "the general council of the UCBSA have instructed their legal team to oppose the action."

In India, the Income Tax authorities say they are all set to submit their appraisal reports on six cricketers this week. Sources say that the appraisal report on Kapil Dev, Ajay Sharma, Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and Nikhil Chopra could be completed this week after which these players would have to submit their block returns to the taxmen for the period 1990-2000. The appraisal report of Navjot Sidhu would also be completed by this week at the Ludhiana Directorate and he would also be issued notice for the submission of the block returns. Meanwhile, the CBI says it will not act in haste to prosecute two of the five players named in its report under the prevention of corruption act.

Banned Indian team physio Ali Irani says he fixed muscles and joints and not matches and if the CBI further pursued its investigation, it would be able to nail more people as guilty. "The more the CBI investigates the bett

The Australian Cricket Board's special investigator into match-fixing, Greg Melick, who is leaving for India on Saturday, may seek an independent financial audit of Mark Waugh, should he find enough evidence against the batsman according to media reports. Melick, a Sydney-based barrister and former member of the National Crime Authority, will accompany the head of ICC anticorruption unit Sir Paul Condon to Chennai and Delhi to discuss the case with investigative officers and witnesses in the wake of the life bans imposed on Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma. During the course of inquiry into matchfixing, the CBI reported suspicions surrounding leading non-Indian players based on the evidence of bookmaker Mukesh Gupta, who also named Mark Waugh and West Indian Brian Lara. Gupta said he paid Waugh $20,000 for information, a payment much higher from the one that Waugh confessed to receiving in Colombo in 1994. Melick is trying to establish whether this is a fresh incident or whether Waugh and Gupta are quibbling over amounts. It is still unclear whether Gupta is the man who met and paid Waugh in Colombo or another bookmaker altogether. Condon and Melick are expected to try to speak to Gupta, but at this stage it is believed Gupta has little, if any, concrete evidence to support his accusations.

Australian cricketing icon Allan Border says that former Indian captain Md Azharuddin got off lightly for his role in the match-fixing scandal. Border, Test cricket's leading run scorer, tells ABC radio that if Azharuddin had committed his crime in another walk of life, he would be behind bars. "If he is guilty, which it seems as though he is, then he is lucky not to be in jail," says Border. "If you did that in the normal walk of life, in a normal business practice then you would find yourself ten years in the clink," adding that he had nothing personal against Azharuddin, against whom he played many times. "How they (Azharuddin, Ajay Sharma, Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar, who were also banned) let themselves get involved in this, I just don't know. Border says he hopes the matchfixing scandal was now over, but he had his doubts. "It's hard to get to the bottom of it, it's one bloke's word against another. But you go through these processes and there is a lot of heartbreak involved but hopefully when we come out the other end, we will have regained a lot of public support. We need to take strong action and come out the other side as clean as a whistle," he says.

ICC chief executive David Richards says the BCCI should be commended for acting in the best interests of cricket. Responding to the decision reached by the BCCI in imposing life bans on Md Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma and five year suspensions on Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and former team physio Ali Irani, Richards says "of course it is disappointing that the careers of these prominent players should end in this way. But hopefully others will learn from their example. From an ICC perspective it has been abundantly clear that corruption will not be tolerated and has no place in the game of cricket. Wrong doers will be identified and punished not just to ensure that justice is seen to be done but also to send a strong deterrent to anyone considering corrupt practices in future."

Banned Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja admits his international career is over after he and four others are handed severe penalties arising from the match fixing scandal. "There is nothing for me to look forward to in cricket," says Jadeja, a day after being slapped with a five year ban by the BCCI for his alleged nexus with bookies. "I am affected the most by the ban. I have given my youth to the board, but now they don't want to play me. I don't want to play for them either," he says. "I have been prevented from doing what I loved most - playing for India," says Jadeja, hinting he may take recourse to legal action to clear his name. "I will explore all avenues to restore my credibility. I will knock at the doors of the BCCI and if need be, go further." Denying that high level political pressure had been applied on his behalf to soften the BCCI verdict against him, Jadeja says there was no need for him to approach anyone because "I have maintained all along that I did not indulge in betting or match fixing."

In the first indication that the punished players will not remain silent, Manoj Prabhakar says it was an unnamed BCCI official who had introduced him to betting. "I won't name the official but the BCCI knows who the person is," he says while reacting to the five year ban imposed on him by the BCCI. Prabhakar, who blew the lid on the scandal three years ago only to find himself accused of having close contacts with bookmakers said "I launched the crusade to cleanse the game and I have succeeded in doing it. But I feel sad that the BCCI did not even have the courtesy to note the contribution I made to clear the dirt. It instead equated me with other players."

Paul Condon, head of the ICC anti-corruption unit and the ACB special investigator Greg Melick are flying to India to follow up in the wake of the decision to ban former India captain Md Azharuddin for life and suspend Indian all rounder Ajay Jadeja for five years. The two are flying to India to follow up the CBI report's allegation of malpractice. The two are expected to hold two days of talks with BCCI officials, senior government officials and the chief officer of the New Delhi Police. "The visit is being made with the full knowledge and assistance of the Indian authorities," says Condon.

India's cricketing authorities slap a life ban on former Indian captain Md Azharuddin and suspended Test star Ajay Jadeja for five years for their role in match fixing. The BCCI says that former Test player Ajay Sharma, who still plays first class cricket, is also banned from the game for life. Former all rounder Manoj Prabhakar, who blew the lid on the match fixing scandal three years ago, and the Indian team's former physio Ali Irani are barred from holding any official post in Indian cricket for five years. Indian wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia is however exonerated by the BCCI disciplinary committee after a meeting in Chennai. The decisions are announced by the BCCI president AC Muthiah, who is also the chairman of the disciplinary committee. "These hard decisions have been taken after careful consideration and they will set an example for the future," says Muthiah. He adds that the punished players have the right to appeal the decisions to the BCCI or any court of law.

Manoj Prabhakar refuses to meet the three member anti corruption team from the ICC who seek an appointment with him in New Delhi. "They telephoned me but I have turned down their request and told them to meet me along with Indian Cricket Board officials," Prabhakar tells a news agency. "I am first answerable to the BCCI and not the ICC," he says. The ICC team aim to question Prabhakar as he has been named by the CBI as the player who introduced some foreign players to the bookie Mukesh Gupta.

Kamal Morarka, the BCCI vice president and a member of the board's disciplinary committee, expresses opposition to any penalty being imposed on the players accused of match fixing and nexus with bookies which is disproportionate to the evidence found against them. A day before the crucial disciplinary committee meeting in Chennai to decide the quantum of punishment, Morarka tells a news agency in Mumbai that before deciding the penalty for any erring player, the committee must weigh the fact that the punished would have recourse to legal remedy if it was disproportionate.