BCCI chief warns rebellious members of expulsion

He was surprised that BCCI’s decisions on financial matters and contracts which had been accepted by working committee and general body meetings should now be raked up after many years. “This diverts attention from the main issue of match fixing that is of great public concern.”

He said that while as BCCI president, he himself would remain “neutral”, he would caution all Board members that none who made “rash” allegations would be spared, and that if found guilty of “endangering the Board’s reputation or harmony”, they would be liable for expulsion.

Affirming that the BCCI would fully support any past and present players until they were proved guilty of involvement in any aspect of betting or match-fixing, Muthiah said he agreed with former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar’s suggestion that the guilty should not only be banned for life but also their records at all levels should be erased.

Muthiah, who faced a barrage of questions on his expulsion threat against vocal members, denied suggestions that it was intended to “intimidate” people like Bindra from speaking out. Nor was there a hidden signal to functionaries not to disclose anything to the CBI. “We have already made a public appeal to everyone to cooperate with the CBI.”

He was at pains to explain that expulsion was provided for in the Board’s constitution and that only the Working Committee could decide what constituted behaviour that affected its reputation. “What is going on is a slander campaign, an attempt to settle personal scores,” Muthiah said.

He said the Working Committee, which meets in New Delhi on May 19, would discuss two letters received from rival groups demanding an enquiry into charges made by each other. One group included Bindra and the other comprised members like PM Rungta and Kamal Morarka.

Asked if he favoured a thorough inquiry into the Board’s functioning, Muthiah said: “Absolutely. We are willing to face an inquiry into its functioning in its entirety. Even the Comptroller and Auditor General can look into its accounts.”

It was upto the CBI to decide whether it should expand the scope of its probe, currently restricted to the charges of match-fixing and betting, to include the Board’s financial matters, Muthiah said.

When a newsman wanted to know why his statement seemed to be dismissive of all issues raised by Bindra, as it referred to his charges as “baseless”, Muthiah said Bindra himself had admitted that his allegation that it was Kapil Dev who made an offer to Manoj Prabhakar to throw a match had no evidence.

Similarly, Bindra had watered down his other allegations including one that he had “reprimanded” three players for betting, but instead of naming them, had later claimed that the players were only placing “small bets” on non-Indian matches in countries where betting was legal.

On the claim that Jyoti Bajpai, manager of the Indian team for the Australasia Cup in Sharjah in 1994, had mentioned in his report names of cricketers allegedly involved in match-fixing, the BCCI president said Bindra later clarified that Bajpai had only told him orally about this. When contacted, Bajpai denied any such oral statement. However, he was free to take up these matters with the CBI, Muthiah added.

Referring to the charges against Bindra made by Rungta and Morarka, he said they had participated in meetings and had acquiesced in administrative decisions.

Replying to a question on the advisability of playing in non-cricketing centres like Toronto and Singapore, he said it had helped development of cricket there. However, that can be reconsidered, if necessary, he added.

The Board, he said, was spending a lot on the game’s development. In the coming year, it would distribute 70 per cent of its revenue of Rs 45 to 50 crore to various state associations.