Mumbai cricketers have all got away, complains Azhar

Mumbai cricketers have all got away, complains Azhar
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, JAN 12: Former cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who has been banned for life from playing cricket, has said cricketers from Mumbai have been able to get away with their wrongdoing without being ‘‘investigated properly’’.

‘‘Nobody talks of the Rs 70 lakh in cash found in Sunil Gavaskar’s Gymkhana locker. What about Ravi Shastri’s Ali Bagh farmhouse and other costly properties? How did Vinod Kambli lose his money from a locker?’’ Azharuddin has asked in an interview to Outlook magazine.

Azharuddin, who has been indicted by the CBI and the cricket board’s internal inquiry conducted by its anti-corruption commissioner, K Madhavan, said he was being targeted because people were ‘‘jealous’’ of his achievements.

‘‘I think people are jealous of me. I have had a successful career and have played for long,’’ a press release from the magazine quoted him as saying.In his first interview after being banned, Azharuddin asserted that he would challenge the life ban in court. ‘‘I am emphatic about my success in court which I am shortly approaching.’’

He denied allegations that he did not give his 100 per cent under Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy. ‘‘That is completely untrue. Under his (Tendulkar’s) captaincy, I scored more runs than he had while captain. I find it difficult to understand why he made such a statement,’’ he said, referring to Tendulkar’s statement to the CBI.