BCCI divided over punishment
Former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin is set to be banned for life for match-fixing, while another tainted player, Ajay Jadeja may be let off with a one-year suspension, highly placed sources said on Thursday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India will next week hand down punishment to four players found guilty by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the board's own internal inquiry.
Former players Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Sharma will be banned from having any official role in Indian cricket, while Nayan Mongia, against whom the CBI found no evidence of wrongdoing, will be exonerated, the sources said.
The decision to impose a life ban on Azharuddin, 38, who the CBI said admitted to fixing three one-day internationals, was supported by 28 of the 30 board affiliates at its special general body meeting in Calcutta on Wednesday, the sources said.
The two exceptions were the Hyderabad Cricket Association -- Azharuddin's home unit -- and former BCCI chief Raj Singh Dungarpur.
"These two wanted Azhar's contribution to Indian cricket to be taken into account, before deciding his fate," said a top-ranking BCCI official who asked not to be identified.
"We would have announced the punishments on Wednesday itself if all the 30 units had agreed to it, but it is final that Azhar will be banned for life."
Dungarpur said he believed the players' version that they were not guilty of fixing matches or dealing with bookmakers.
"So many people come up and speak to cricketers at airports, parties and other places," he told the Star News television channel.
"Some of them may be bookies but how are the players to know that. Bookies do not have labels pasted on them.
"I would rather believe a cricketer who has served his country than a bookmaker."
The BCCI official said there was tremendous pressure from within the board and outside to go soft on Jadeja, despite the BCCI new code of conduct which lays down a miniumum ban of five years on players found guilty of hobnobbing with bookmakers.
Jadeja, 30, the only one among the four with a realistic chance of playing international cricket again, could be out for one year, possibly three, depending on how the BCCI's three-man disciplinary committee views it.
The committee, comprising BCCI president A.C. Muthiah and vice-presidents Kamal Morarka and Ram Prasad, will meet in Madras over the weekend to reach a final decision.
Those toeing a soft line on Jadeja have cited the example of Australian stars Shane Warne and Mark Waugh, who were let off with a fine after admitting to taking money from Indian bookmaker "John" for providing team information.
Pakistani cricketers like Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed are still playing for their country despite being named for similar offences in a judicial report earlier this year.
"We do not want to be seen to be soft on any player, but it is hard to ignore the arguments that other countries have let their players off," the BCCI official said.
He brushed aside suggestions that the cricketers may go to court to challenge the punishment meted to them.
"The code of conduct covers all players, so that does not worry us. We will fight it in court, if necessary."
Media reports said Azharuddin had hired former federal law minister Ram Jethmalani's lawyer son, Mahesh, to fight his case.
Even if Jadeja gets a one-year ban, the BCCI sources said it is unlikely he will ever play for India again.
"It is difficult for a player to come back into the team after being out of it for a long period," the top official said. "The selectors and the team management may have a different agenda by then."
Mail Cricket Editor
