Former Australian legend and Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne has strongly denied reports of involvement of a famous Australian cricketer in alleged fixing of Indian Premier League matches played in South Africa last year.
Warne said he was not completely surprised by the controversy, but was shocked his name had been thrown around without any substantiation.
"I have total confidence that no Australian is involved. In the time I have played in the IPL, I have never been approached or heard anything at the Royals regarding match-fixing," Fox Sports quoted Warne, as saying.
"Although, weird things can sometimes happen in Twenty20 cricket. That's the nature of the game. I do know this: To fix a Twenty20, you would have to have the captain, otherwise you just couldn't do it," he added.
According to reports, a London-based newspaper has claimed that 27 players, including "a famous Australian", were under investigation by tax officials after the latest match-fixing claims.
Indian tax officials, however, denied issuing the report, and said that no IPL players, including Australians, were being investigated.
The 41-year-old Warne further insisted that the governing body should take strong action if any players are found guilty.
"Any players involved in this controversy, if found guilty, should be banned for life," Warne said.
"It's good to hear that the authorities have come out and said that no Australian is under investigation," he added.
