One page report sums up Sidhu probe (5 Aug 1996)

5 August 1996

One page report sums up Sidhu probe

Syed Firdaus Ashraf

The media took an entire rain forest-worth of newsprint to report the fact that a three-member committee was probing the circumstances behind the abrupt departure of ace batsman Navjot Singh Sidhu from the Indian side that toured England earlier this year.

The committee itself - comprising BCCI vice-president Raj Singh Dungarpur, BCCI joint secretary JY Lele and former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar as members - however took up all of one foolscap page to sum up its conclusions.

"I have faxed a one-page report to BCCI president Inderjit Singh Bindra," Lele told this reporter without, however, discussing the tenor of the report.

The fax was sent to Bindra`s home on Sunday. The BCCI boss was not in at the time, but his wife confirmed that the fax had reached its destination, Lele said.

In such cavalier fashion did Indian cricket`s worst-ever scandal come to a conclusion.

It is now up to the BCCI top brass to study the report - a proceeding that, given the length of that document, should take hardly any time at all - and to arrive at a verdict.

The cutoff point for the verdict is August 9, which is the day when the national selection committee meets in Calcutta to announce the team for the forthcoming Singer Cup in Sri Lanka and the Sahara Cup in Toronto, Canada.

Bindra indicated that the selection committee will also, during its August 9 meeting, name the captain for the two tours, both of which feature limited overs contests.

The very fact that the selection committee has been asked to name a captain indicates - though the BCCI brass are reluctant to answer any specific queries in this regard at this stage - that incumbent Mohammad Azharuddin`s continued tenure could be in doubt. It will be recalled that in mid-1994, the BCCI had named Azhar as India`s captain for a term that was supposed to end in September. The briefing of the selection committee to name a captain for the national side, thus, could well be a portent that Azhar`s reign will end a couple of months ahead of schedule.

The team for the two overseas tournaments, as picked, will then move on to a coaching camp in Madras beginning August 13. The team will then leave for Sri Lanka to participate in the four nation Singer Cup beginning August 24 and involving, besides India, hosts Sri Lanka, Australia and Zimbabwe.

India will take on world champions Sri Lanka on the opening day of the tournament in a day-night match. The final of the tournament is slated for September 7.

From Sri Lanka, the team will then proceed to Toronto to play a series of five one-day games against Pakistan for the Sahara Cup. The matches - which are being called the Friendship Cup owing to the fact that they mark the revival of Indo-Pak cricketing ties albeit on neutral territory - will be held on September 14, 15, 18, 21 and 22.

These two tours are merely the prelude to a busy international season, in course of which India will after Toronto host South Africa and Australia in a triangular one-day tournament between October 17 and November 6.

Immediately thereafter, South Africa will take on India in a three Test series, the first at Ahmedabad between November 20 and 24, the second at Calcutta between November 27 and December 1 and the third at Kanpur between December 8 and 12. The two teams will also take part in a benefit match for former Test star Mohinder Amarnath at Mohali on December 14.

At the conclusion of the home series, India will fly to South Africa for a reciprocal three Test series in that country, the fixtures being scheduled for Durban (December 26 and 30), Capetown (January 2 and 6) and Johannesburg (January 16 and 20).

The Indian team will then join South Africa and Zimbabwe in a triangular one-day series between January 23 and February 12.

Source :: Rediff On The NeT (https://www.rediff.co.in)