Administrators to meet over fixing scandal

Administrators to meet over fixing scandal
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, April 25: International Cricket Council President Jagmohan Dalmiya will head a list of cricket administrators, present and past, who will take part in the crucial meeting with Union Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa here on April 27 to discuss the raging betting and match-fixing scandal.

Cricket board President A C Muthiah, three of his predecessors, Madhav Rao Scindia, N K P Salve and Inderjit Singh Bindra, board secretary Jaywant Lele, its vice-president and Heavy Industries Minister Manohar Joshi, Information and Broadcasting Minister and Delhi Association President, Arun Jaitley are expected to attend the much-awaited meeting.

Former captains Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi are also slated to take part. Controversial ex-all rounder Manoj Prabhakar, whose allegations led to the setting up of the probe by Chandrachud, and skipper Saurav Ganguly, playing in the English county, are unlikely to attend, the sources added.

Dhindsa called the meeting in the wake of the sensational match-fixing case registered by Delhi Police naming sacked South African skipper Hansie Cronje and four teammates, and the subsequent allegations against Indian players and administrators.

Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje, Pieter Strydom and Henry Williams were among those named in the sensational case made public by the Delhi Police on April 7.

The Chandrachud Committee report, tabled in the Lok Sabha a few days back, came in for criticism from members who had called it "eyewash" and demanded a CBI inquiry to clear doubts in the minds of the millions of cricket fans.

Dhindsa had said the April 27 meeting to elicit views from the administrators and players would be crucial ahead of the government decision on insituting a CBI inquiry.

Sports ministry sources said the government had no plans to interfere in the working of BCCI or curb the number of matches the Indian team proposed to play.