Pataudi welcomes Bharti's decision

Onkar Singh

Former India cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi on Friday welcomed Union Sports Minister Uma Bharti's decision to withdraw the Arjuna awards conferred on Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar, who have been served varying bans from the game by the Board of Control for Cricket in India following their alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal.

Speaking to rediff.com, Pataudi said if the government is convinced that the three players had a role in match-fixing then the decision is justified.

"If they have been involved in such activities then the government is fully justified in withdrawing the awards given to these players in recognition of their contribution to the game of cricket.

"I am convinced that there is much more to the whole thing than meets the eye. We now have to see what comes out of the investigations launched by the anti-corruption wing of the International Cricket Council," he said.

Pataudi said the game is bigger than the players no matter who they are. "I have no doubt that cricket will survive this scam and continue to enthrall cricket lovers," he said.

He complimented the Central Bureau of Investigation for doing a good job and also appreciated the BCCI's decision to impose the life ban on Azharuddin and five-year bans on Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar.

"They [BCCI] took action against these players only after BCCI president Dr A C Muthiah was convinced that the players are guilty," he said.

Mail Cricket Editor