rediff.com: BCCI upset over Pak manager's remarks

The Board of Control for Cricket in India today strongly protested to its Pakistan counterpart against the critical remarks made by the Pakistan team manager in Sri Lanka, about the steps being taken by the Indian authorities on the raging match-fixing scandal.

In a strongly worded letter to Pakistan Cricket Board director Yavar Saeed, BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele urged that the Pakistan team manager, retired Brig. Mohammad Nasir, be asked to refrain from making statements on the match-fixing issue when the concerned investigating authorities are probing the scandal.

"The match-fixing and betting episode is being examined in India by the Delhi police and the CBI, in Pakistan by the Qayyum Commission and in South Africa by the King Commission, besides the ICC examining through its code of conduct commission.

"It (Nasir's remarks) is absolutely out of place and unwarranted. On one side the relations between the officials of the BCCI and PCB are so cordial and on the other your manager makes such baseless and unnecessary remarks.

"We therefore strongly protest this and request you to kindly ask all concerned and your manager to refrain from making such remarks when the investigating agencies are examining these issues at various levels," Lele wrote to the PCB director.

Nasir had told a press conference, and in particular an Indian journalist, in Colombo prior to the ongoing tri-series: "You should do something about these Indian gamblers and their agents who are responsible for bringing disrepute to the noble game.

"Everyone is blaming Hansie Cronje for what happened, but the root cause is the Indian bookies. You take them out and the problem will be solved."

Cronje had told the King Commission in South Africa during his testimony last month that Indian bookies had offered him money to influence matches.

"Hansie is at least honest and admitted what happened, but what steps are being taken to see that the Indian bookies are stopped from operating," Nasir said, adding, "this is a total disgrace to the game and it is being done by the Indians."

Nasir had also trumpeted that India should not take credit for exposing the scandal, saying it was Pakistan which took the first steps to investigate the allegations of match-fixing after three Australian cricketers (Mark Waugh, Shane Warne and Tim May) had accused ex-Pakistani captain Salim Malik of offering them money to throw away matches.

The Pakistan team manager was obviously been referring to the Justice Chandrachud Commission, an inhouse inquiry set up by the BCCI to probe the allegation of former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar that match-fixing was rife in Indian cricket.

The one-man commission gave its report to the BCCI in 1997, absolving Indian cricketers of all the charges.


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