EXPRESS

SPORT 21

JUNE 2 l 2013

Shirke: Srinivasan is thick-skinned, always puts his interests on top

KOLKATA I JUNE 1

BCCI stopped functioning democratically after CSK got involved in the controversy
AP PTI

SHAMIK CHAKRABARTY

DAY after BCCI treasurer Ajay Shirke tendered his resignation, he said he had distanced himself from the organisation because the board had stopped functioning in a democratic manner after the involvement of the presidents son-in-law in the betting scandal came to light. He also called Srinivasan thick skinned for not resigning on moral grounds. Who knows? It could even end up with Srinivasan nominating a new secretary and treasurer of his choice! The BCCI has stopped functioning as a democratic body ever since Chennai Super Kings and Srinivasans son-in-law came under the scanner for the alleged involvement in cricket betting. In fact, Srinivasan has always been democratic, as long as he doesnt have to compromise with his own interests. said Shirke. What can you expect from such a thick-skinned person? I and Sanjay Jagdale resigned last night, owning up to our moral responsibilities. We thought he (N Srinivasan) would reconsider his stance for the sake of Indian cricket. Far from it. Rather, I heard he has been saying he would never allow us again in the BCCI. I felt the BCCI failed in its job to stand up to the present challenge. So, I stepped down, Shirke said, speaking to The Sunday Express. With Shirke staying away from the emergent general body meeting, and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, who also resigned from the BCCI on Saturday staying away from it, Srinivasan is under growing pressure to step down, but the former treasurer says Srinivasan still possesses the numbers. When three Rajasthan Royals players were arrested he promptly called an emergent working committee meeting, condemned the accused and set up an inquiry commission. But when his own team is involved, he is trying to stonewall everything. said Shirke. When asked about the authority Srini-

I was hurt with what happened in IPL: Shukla

MUMBAI I JUNE 1

DEVENDRA PANDEY

EXPRESS/PRASHANT NADKAR

TO add to the pressure on BCCI president N Srinivasan, chairman of the IPL Rajiv Shukla resigned on Saturday, saying the fixing scandal had hurt him. Shukla was the third name from within the top brass of the BCCI to resign of late, and it is expected that Srinivasan himself might bow to the pressure and quit on Sunday. I had already informed that this will be my last IPL and I have resigned from my post today. It was two years since I had chaired the IPL and things were fine until recently. What happened in IPL was disturbing and I was hurt too, said Shukla. The now former IPL chairman said that he would not attend the crucial emergent general body meeting of the board which could decide the fate of president Srinivasan, but would be available on video conferencing.

(Clockwise from above) A Team India fan displays a placard prior to the start of the Champions Trophy warm-up match between India and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in Birmingham; Ankeet Chavan during the Haldi ceremony on Saturday, one day before his wedding. Ankeet Chavans father Anil Chavan and brother Nihar outside their residence at Shivaji Park. vasan still commands within the board, he said: This happens in India. People must have vested interest. I and Jagdale believe his position has become untenable. But 24 members need to feel that way to remove him. Some people are still openly supporting him, Shirke said. When asked why he had remained silent when he was a part of Srinivasans press conference announcing unity within the BCCI, he said: It was not the right forum. It was a press conference and my protest would have put Indian cricket in a bad light. Also, no one asked me anything. I decided not to shoot from the hip.

To skip meeting
THE matter is under probe and I dont want to comment anything more. It was a good experience for me and I thought it was time to move on. I wont be attending tomorrows meeting as I have some work in Delhi and have informed BCCI about it. I will be available through vedio conference, Shukla said, speaking to The Sunday Express hours after tendering his resignation. It was the third high profile resignation from within the board in two days, with the likes of BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke stepped down on Friday. The BCCIs working committee will meet in Chennai on Sunday with intense pressure on board president N. Srinivasan to quit after his son-inlaw and IPL Chennai franchise official Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested last month as part of the investigation.

SPOT-FIXING IN IPL

Wont hold a BCCI post again: Jagdale

INDORE I JUNE 1

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

A DAY after resigning from the post of BCCI secretary in the wake of IPL spot-fixing scandal, Sanjay Jagdale on Saturday ruled out the possibility of holding a board administrators post in the future. I am not even looking at the possibility of coming back into the BCCI fold. I think I am done with my innings, Jagdale told reporters here. The 62-year-old BCCI official, along with treasurer Ajay Shirke, quit on Fri-

day in a bid to put pressure on beleaguered board president N Srinivasan. Jagdale said a massive clean-up job was required to rid the game of corruption. The spot-fixing and betting scandal in the IPL has badly dented the image of cricket. A massive clean-up job is required to overcome this. But this will take time as the damage done is very big. It is very difficult to stop fixing in cricket and the BCCI has its own limitations. But the the board can strengthen its surveillance and curb the menace of fixing. At the same time, the BCCI

will have to take strict action against cricketers who are found guilty. Jagdale said he would no longer be a part of the three-man inquiry commission set up by the BCCI to look into the allegations against Srinivasans son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who was arrested on charges of betting in IPL. I dont want to be a part of it because I am not comfortable with the idea. I am not directly related to IPL, and only those who have been part of this IPL organisation should be kept in this inquiry commission.

People tried to tempt me, but I didnt give in

NEW DELHI I JUNE 1

Ex-cricketer helped in probe: Police

NEW DELHI I JUNE 1

PRAWESH LAMA

NIHAL KOSHIE

THE day after he became a prosecution witness in the spot-fixing and betting investigation, Rajasthan Royals mediumpacer Siddharth Trivedi said that though people tempted him to cheat, he played the game in the right spirit Though people tried to tempt me, I never even thought of spot-fixing a game, Trivedi told The Sunday Express. According to police sources, Trivedi had accepted clothes and perfumes from bookies but had not taken any cash nor had he fixed games. This is not the first time that Trivedi has been approached to fix games. During a television sting operation last year, Trivedi turned down an offer to spot-fix matches from undercover reporters of a television channel. Recalling the sting operation from the previous season, Siddharths father Kishorkumar Trivedi said that he had advised his son to stay away from unscrupulous element. From the very

beginning I have always told Siddharth that money should always be secondary when compared to the love of the game. No matter how great the temptation, I know that Siddharth will never betray the game, said Kishorkumar, a former Ranji Trophy cricketer who is also Trivedis coach. People may have tried to tempt him thinking that he may agree to their wishes because he has not played for India though he has really worked hard. But those who know him will vouch for his honesty, Kishorkumar said. In a First-Class career spanning a decade Siddharth has grown into a quintessential cricketer who has done the hard miles but has not been able to take the next step because he has been looked upon more as a utility cricketer than one with the potential to be a match-winner. At one point in time, especially in mid-2000, we hoped that he would play for India. But there was always stiff competition when it came to mediumpacers and Siddharth missed out. Un-

Police say Siddharth Trivedi accepted gifts but didnt fix. PTI less you are in the top-two wicket-takers in first-class cricket it is difficult to catch the eye of the selectors, especially if you play for the less-fancied teams, Kishorkumar said. Though Trivedi started off with great promise as he was part of the Under-19 World Cup in 2002 and also a

winner of the Border-Gavaskar scholarship, Trivedis career was restricted to turning out for Gujarat and Air India, and more recently, Saurashtra before he was part of the Rajasthan Royals side that won the inaugural IPL. In the Twenty20 league, Trivedi enhanced his reputation by being a bowler who can be depended upon to not leak too many runs with smart variations. With 65 wickets in 76 matches over the six seasons, Trivedi is the highest wickettaker for the Royals. At a pre-season camp, Trivedi had his ankles strapped-up during a practice session. It is not easy bowling on the hard as rock wickets in Rajkot, but I will be fine for the IPL, Trivedi, who has played 78 FirstClass games, said in reply to a query on the seriousness of the injury. The current instance is not the first time Trivedi has been in the news for off-the-field controversies. In 2008, Trivedi was taken to court by Dipikka Nayak, who claimed that the cricketer had married her in 2007 but was refusing to accept her as his wife.

THE special cell investigating the role of three Rajasthan players and bookies in the spot-fixing scandal has taken the assistance of a former cricketer to help them analyse the performance of the accused bowlers. An interesting observation, made by the unnamed former cricketer was the bowling speed of the bowlers in those overs

which were allegedly fixed. Sources in the special cell said that during the analysis of the video footage from the channels, it was observed that the speed of each ball bowled by Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan decreased rapidly. It was an interesting observation that he made. It appears that the bowlers had deliberately bowled slow balls during those overs which was fixed. However this graph is not similar to the other bowlers, said a police official.

Cops say major bookmaker has fled

GAUTAM S MENGLE
MUMBAI I JUNE 1

THE Mumbai Police Crime Branch has discovered that Shobhan Mehta, a major player in the Mumbai betting circles, fled the country after both the Mumbai and the Delhi police began their crackdown. Two weeks ago, the crime branch has been able to track his movements upto the Mumbai International airport. Shobhan Mehta alias Shobhan Kalachowkie was arrested earlier by the

Mumbai police in 2005, and is known as one of the biggest bookies in Mumbai till date. Interestingly, it was the arrest of Ramesh Vyas, who is also in the Mumbai crime branchs custody for his alleged involvement in the IPL betting case, that led to Mehtas arrest. Weve learned that Mehta was in Mumbai till two weeks ago but fled the country after the polices crackdown. Mehtas last location was traced to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, said a Crime Branch official.

What may be immoral to one may not be immoral to another

In a statement released by PMG, BCCI-contracted SUNIL GAVASKAR breaks his silence on the spot-fixing issue, says to each his own
There are reasons given about why I am silent, and the main reason is that my silence has been bought by the TV contract that the BCCI has with me. Firstly, now that the BCCI has its own production house, it is well within its rights to contract those who they want to, just like other sports channels have contracted some other players to do commentary for them. The reason why such contracts are done is to obtain exclusivity from the contracted entity so that he/ she does not appear on a rival channel and that is why good money is paid to the former players. That is also why I have not appeared on another TV channel excepting the news channel that has a contract with me. If all those who are reporting on the episodes for their papers or TV channels cannot write for a rival paper or appear on another TV channel, then how can I appear on a news channel other than the one Im contracted to? And since I dont appear on the other channels, does it mean I am being silent? Just like every player, I have been directly or indirectly contracted to BCCI since the age of 12, when I first played for Mumbai schools. I was then given one rupee per day if I remember correctly by the Mumbai Cricket Association. So throughout my playing career, I was under contract with the BCCI either directly or through its affiliate, the Mumbai Cricket Association. It is just that the quantum of the fees has changed from the 1 rupee that I first got when I played for Mumbai schools and that is thought as being the reason for my so called silence. During the time that I played, I did speak up for the playing fraternity to ensure that their rights were looked after. I could have been dropped, but I did speak out for what I felt was right for my playing fraternity, and, believe me, playing for India was more important than any monetary inducement and yet I did not shy away from speaking my mind. The police agencies are doing their job so the criminality or otherwise will be established by them. As for the morality part, it is a free world and to each his own. What maybe immoral to one may not be immoral to another, and as long as it is within the framework of the laws that govern our country, nobody should be forced to say or do anything against their will is what I believe in. IT IS with some dismay but a great deal more amusement that I have been following the issue of my so called silence on the current scenario in Indian cricket. Ever since the three Rajasthan Royals players were taken into custody, I have been on the TV channel that I am contracted to, and have given my views on the episode as it has unfolded. So to say that I have been silent is totally erroneous and downright mischievous. So whether Mr. Srinivasan should stay or step aside while the probe committee does its job is a moral issue, and it is for him to take a call on that. That has been my stand, and since it is not one that resonates with most TV channels and the print media, I am accused of being silent. It is for the BCCI and Mr. Srinivasan to take a call on the issue facing Indian cricket today because it is a moral issue. It is not for me to advise them what to do as everybody else seems to be doing, and if that is taken as being bought then good luck to democracy in our country.