NEW DELHI : International CricketCouncil (ICC) President Sharad Pawar on
Saturday joined theIndian cricket board (BCCI) in dismissing former
player Vinod Kambli's claims of possible corruption in India's 1996
World Cupsemi-final loss to Sri Lanka. A teary-eyed Kambli
recently told a television channel he had doubts about some of the
decisions, including opting to bat first, taken in the Kolkata match,
which Sri Lanka won by default following crowd trouble at Eden Gardens.
Chasing 252 for victory, India suffered a batting collapse
and slumped to 120-8 when a violent crowd stopped the game and Kambli
left the ground sobbing. Pawar had his doubts about the allegations made by a former cricketer known for his headline-grabbing penchant. "If
he is honest and committed cricketer, he should have informed all. Even
if he knew something, he kept quiet," Pawartold Indian media.I
honestly feel his allegations are an irres ponsiblestatement I would
rather go by what (former India captains)Sourav Ganguly, Sachin
Tendulkar or Ajit Wadekar say. "Had he (Kambli) focussed
more on his game, he could have been an asset for the team, just like
Sachin Tendulkar," Pawar added. Kambli hit two
double-centuries and two single ones in his first seven tests before his
career stuttered, primarily because of his lack of focus. BCCI
also joined some of Kambli's former team mates,including then captain
Mohammad Azharuddin, in ruling out any wrongdoing in the match.I
don't think we need to attach any importance to someone who wakes up 15
years after the incident to make these allegations," BCCI vice
president Rajeev Shukla told reporters. Sports Minister Ajay Maken, however, called for a probe into the allegations. "When a player of the team has made a charge, it should be thoroughly investigated," Maken told reporters. "It should be properly investigated and if something wrong has happened then the culprits should be punished." Former
Pakistan captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Asif and
Mohammad Amir were jailed this month for taking bribes to fix incidents
in last year's Lord's test.Reuters
