A Tale of two probes

God, if match-fixing was bad enough, this must surely be the pits. Lying under oath — I presume one was taken when they appeared before Chandrachud. Even if there was no oath, it is unpardonable that some people took the commission for a ride. Surely, even if the Government does not take action, the Board of Control for Cricket in India can, by banning all the liars from every aspect of cricket. Even if prosecution is not, that surely is in the BCCI’s hands.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, which has taken up the case would do well to instill the fear of law into the minds of cricketers and officials, who must be made to realise that they cannot go on lying. Even more than match-fixing, this is a bigger crime.

Remember a guy called Bill Clinton, who lied under oath? And also remember what the system made him go through.

And now look at the King Commission. Barely two days into it, and the skeletons are tumbling out in huge numbers. Wonder how long before one of the South Africans takes some Indian names, and not just of bookies. And we all know that Cassim "Banjo" Hamed was a great friend of some Indian stalwarts, too. He may have been supplying "Biltong" — a special kind of dried meat — to the players, but it now becomes obvious that he was supplying much more than just meat to the players.

There is no way one can condone what the South Africans have done. Hansie Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams have confessed. There is a good chance that some others, too, might. But at the same time, it is hard not to admire a set of people who are willing to admit the grave mistake they have committed.

Surely our cricket stinks. It all began with Delhi Police cracking open what now seems one of the biggest ever scandals in the history of sport. After all the criticism over how long the South Africans took to start their probe, it now seems to be progressing at breakneck speed, with the assurance of an interim report by June 30.

And what do we have: a Board that refuses to accept that there is a problem and a system which has not been able to present a chargesheet against the South Africans, who anyway are singing like canaries back home. On top of that, Cronje and Gibbs themselves are ready to come to India to testify.

So what’s stopping the Indians from asking them to come over. Surely a Board which is flushed with money can afford a couple of air tickets for Cronje and Gibbs, and perhaps, even some others, to tell us where the problem lies.