Sidhu affair: the enquiry begins (3 Aug 1996)

3 August 1996

L`affaire Sidhu: the enquiry begins

Syed Firdaus Ashraf

A drama that began in a blaze of publicity seems set to end under a shroud of secrecy and silence, as the three-member enquiry committee constituted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India met, in camera, to probe the circumstances behind ace Indian batsman Navjot Singh Sidhu`s abrupt departure from England midway through the Indian tour of that country earlier this year.

The committee, comprising BCCI vice-president Raj Singh Dungarpur (below, centre) in the chair, and BCCI joint secretary J Y Lele (right) and former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar (left) as members, arrived at the Cricket Club of India in Bombay early in the morning of Saturday.

Shortly thereafter, the dramatis personae of perhaps the most controversial incident in Indian cricket began arriving at the scene. First to reach the venue was Navjot Singh Sidhu, the protagonist of the controversy and the man who, at the end of the one-day series against England and shortly before the Test series, walked out of the Indian side accusing captain Mohammad Azharuddin of treating him with a marked lack of consideration during the tour.

Skipper Azharuddin arrived shortly thereafter, driving up in a Mercedes with lady love Sangita Bijlani. While Bijlani disappeared into an upstairs room, Azhar went over to the enquiry room, exchanging a greeting with Sidhu en route.

The committee, for which a seperate room had been set aside, first summoned Sidhu to hear his side of the story. Next up before the tribunal was Azhar, followed by Patil, Tendulkar and Nagaraj.

Each of the `witnesses` spent approximately an hour before the committee.

"I have told them my side of the story," said Sidhu, after coming out of the meeting around 1 pm. "I will abide by whatever decision the board takes." The ace Indian batsman refused to discuss the issue, or his own testimony, merely adding that he was leaving almost immediately for his home town, Patiala.

Azharuddin, who came out of the committee room to pick up a copy of a sports magazine - whether for personal amusement, or because it formed one of his exhibits before the enquiry committee is not known - refused to make any comment whatsoever.

As did Sandeep Patil, Tendulkar and Nagaraj.

For his part Gavaskar - who left the premises immediately after the hearing wound up at 3 pm - was brusque with importunate reporters. "I am not supposed to comment," the former India skipper said curtly. "It is for the board to decide."

Characteristically, the only person among the players in Indian cricket`s latest tamasha who vouchsafed more than a `no comment` was enquiry committee chairman Raj Singh Dungarpur. "We had a very good meeting," the BCCI vice president told Rediff On The NeT. "Everyone was cooperative, they all expressed their respective stands with clarity. This will help us immensely when we sit down to draft the report which we will be submitting to the BCCI."

Having finished with its examination of the relevant witnesses, the three-member committee is expected to meet again on Sunday, in order to discuss the evidence and finalise its report, which will be submitted to the BCCI immediately thereafter. "With that, the issue is over as far as this committee is concerned," Dungarpur said.

But the end, for the committee, is merely the beginning for the BCCI itself. Facing Indian cricket`s apex body, as it scrutinises the report and prepares its judgement, are a handful of thorny questions.

First, it will have to decide whether Sidhu, in accusing Azharuddin of having behaved callously towards a batsman of his seniority by dropping him from the side without not only explanation but even prior intimation, was right.

Did Azhar deliberately set Sidhu up for ridicule by his teammates, or was the Indian batsman reading too much into the situation, is yet another question to be decided upon.

In the event that the answer to the questions above is, based on the enquiry committee`s report, in the affirmative, the board will then have to decide what action it can, and should, take against Indian cricket`s most successful captain.

In the event that Sidhu`s allegations are found unjustified, the board then needs to decide on Sidhu`s own fate. In a sense, the Indian batsman has taken that particular problem out of the board`s hands, by specifically mentioning in his resignation letter that if he is found in the wrong, he will make his retirement from international cricket permanent.

But above all, there yet remains the biggest - and what could be the thorniest - conundrum facing the board. Assume the committee reports that Sidhu was justified, and Azhar was at fault (which, it must be mentioned here, is by no means an inevitablity). The board then has not only to decide Azhar`s fate, but also to decide whether Sidhu should go unpunished for his unprecedented walkout midway through a crucial tour.

At this point, it is not yet clear how the committee will report, or what the board will decide.

But indications are that whatever the nature of the committee`s report, and the board`s final decision, the controversy that rocked Indian cricket earlier this year is far from over.

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