Bet on it, this is deja vu

And Australia’s Mark Waugh and former South Africa skipper Hansie Cronje, who died in 2001 in a plane crash, have already been named in the report on match-fixing prepared by the CBI in 2000.

One name that didn’t crop up was that of former cricketer Ajay Sharma — also banned for life — who, according to the CBI report, was Azhar’s partner in crime. He was, in the words of a Delhi Police officer, the “cricketer-bookie king” who fixed deals and liaised with Azhar.

Significantly, the police have said that Mehta has not named any current player, and that the matches or incidents he’s mentioned are those that were under scrutiny in the 2000 probe.

All this means that what Mehta has been up to of late is betting, not match-fixing. Even the Mumbai Police only managed to establish his betting involvement in the recent India-Pakistan series, not match-fixing.

The Gujarat Police seem to be enjoying their 15 minutes of fame — or are concealing information of a seminal nature. Revelations that tips about pitch condition, weather, toss, individual team strategy, physical fitness of important players and other matter were obtained by the bookies five years after they were common knowledge seem inane.

Mehta didn’t reveal any information about the recent India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad, which was played on April 12. The match had got off to a delayed start after water had been sprinkled on the pitch — allegedly on Mehta’s instructions. But the police said he’d not admitted to that yet.

Strangely, even the BCCI hasn’t bothered to investigate the reason behind the delayed start, though there are reports that the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit is examining it.

One interesting aspect is the statement on his links with the underworld. ACP DG Vanjara, who briefed the press in Ahmedabad today, stated that bookies are infamous for their association with the underworld — the suspicion is that Mehta too must have some connection with the gang members of Chhota Shakeel, Amar Naik and Arun Gawli.

What the police seem to be missing here, though, is that Mehta had defied the underworld and honoured all bets during the Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah in April 1999 despite threats from Dawood Ibrahim’s henchman Chota Shakeel, who lost 17 crores on that Pakistan-England match on April 12.

Mehta who?

Former India stumper Nayan Mongia, who was named by Shobhan Mehta, denied even knowing the bookie. “I do not know why this thing is coming up again and again despite my name having been cleared by an inquiry. I never heard his name before and do not recall seeing him,” Mongia said from Vadodara, adding that he would wait and watch the emerging situation.