New Delhi: Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Saturday said that Vinod Kambli’s contention, that he suspected that the 1996 World Cup semi-final had been rigged, must be probed. The sports minister said it was very important for cricket lovers to know exactly what had transpired in that particular match between India and Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens. Maken’s stand was echoed by BJP MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad who said the instances of rigging during the 90s decade should be examined and the BCCI should provide details of the investigations conducted against players over match-fixing. Azad said the decade of the 90s was marked by various instances of match fixing. He said he had even
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initiated a debate during the zero hour in Parliament. Azad said he would not like to comment on a particular instance, but added that there was no smoke without fire. When STAR News asked Azad about the team reversing its initial decision to bat first in the 1996 World Cup, Azad said he did not know the circumstances in which the decision was taken. He said, “The issue of match fixing is such that any well-positioned player within the team can discreetly take one or two players into confidence and connive with a punter. It is very difficult to nail the person in such a case.” Azad also agreed that matches were fixed in those days. “Many people suspected this and I too was one of them,” he said. According to him even Hanse Cronje and Shane Warne admitted that Indian bookies had ‘fixed’ them. If foreigners could be booked why not Indians, though he clarified that he was not talking about a particular match. Azad said it was easier to nail rigging with development of technology which was the result of the commercialization of cricket. Cases could be quickly spotted on camera. When STAR News asked him whether the BCCI should probe the match in question, Azad said there was no point expecting the board to take any action against the cricketers but on the other hand he had a lot of expectations from the sports bill. The BJP MP also refrained from commenting on ‘close friend’ Azharuddin but added that the Congress MP could easily sue the BCCI for wasting his years. Former Indian cricketer Vinod Kambli on Thursday made the shocking allegation that he suspected that the 1996 World Cup semi-final played between India and Sri Lanka may have been fixed. A visibly emotional Kambli made the statement while participating in a STAR News debate on ex-chief of ICC anti-corruption unit Paul Condon's statement that in the 90s and in the following years all of cricket's leading countries were involved in fixing major matches.
Read Full: Kambli's fixing claims should be probed: Maken
New Delhi: Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Saturday said that Vinod Kambli’s contention, that he suspected that the 1996 World Cup semi-final had been rigged, must be probed. The sports minister said it was very important for cricket lovers to know exactly what had transpired in that particular match between India and Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens. Maken’s stand was echoed by BJP MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad who said the instances of rigging during the 90s decade should be examined and the BCCI should provide details of the investigations conducted against players over match-fixing. Azad said the decade of the 90s was marked by various instances of match fixing. He said he had even
