Hyderbad: A day after former Indian cricketer Vinod Kambli claimed that 1996 World Cup semifinal between India and Sri Lanka may have been fixed, former Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju termed it as surprising. Raju said before the match they had a team meeting where they all decided to field first. He added that Navjot Singh Sidhu was the only person who said they should bat first since the wicket looked dry.It was not just the captain's decision but the entire team's decision to put Sri Lankans to bat first", Raju said.Raju also added that in the 1996 World Cup Sri Lankans were very good in chasing. Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana had planned to score 120-150 in first 15 overs. After that they had experience players who could have added good score."If we look back at the particular match, we got two early wickets, but I think Aravinda de Silva played brilliantly. But it is surprising that Vinod Kambli is claiming this after such a long time," Raju said."In the 90s there were so many reports of match-fixing that if we look back at any match of that time it looks as if it was fixed," he added.Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was the then ICC president, said why Vinod Kambli kept quiet for 15 long years.Colin Gibson, ICC's head of media and communications, declined to comment on Vinod Kambli's claims and said, "We won't be commenting.Ex-cricketers Manoj Prabhakar, Nayan Mongia and Navjot Sidhu also refused to comment on the entire matter. Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar also tweeted, "1996 world cup semi final - The decision to field first may have turned out to be a wrong decision but it was an honest cricketing decision.Wadekar rubbishes claims Ajit Wadekar, the then team manager, rubbished the allegations and said fielding first was a collective decision.Wadekar termed Kambli's accusation as incorrect and said the team had decided to field first. When STAR News asked him for his version, Wadekar said, "In the team meeting before the match it was decided that India would field in the event of winning the toss. The decision was taken after consultation with the entire team.According to Wadekar, "The entire team felt that the Sri Lankan players are good chasers. Hence, the team felt that if India fielded first, the Lankans could be easily defeated." Wadekar added that even though he and Sandeep Patil were of the opinion that the wicket would turn, still the team decided to field keeping in mind the chasing prowess of the Sri Lankans.
