India should take a break, players not in right frame of mind — Kapil

“Under the current circumstances, I do not think the players will be in a position to give their best in matches,” Kapil said.

“The pressure will be too much on the players … Things have come to such a pass that if a player misses a catch or fails to score, he is bound to be viewed with suspicion,” he says. He was referring to the surfeit of allegations on betting and match-fixing since the Delhi Police charged the now sacked South African skipper Hansie Cronje and some of his teammates with fixing matches of the One-day series against India.

The former India captain, who took over as coach last year, says he has spoken to a few players and “they also feel the same”.

The disclosure by the Delhi Police on April 7 and the subsequent confession by Cronje that he had accepted money from bookmakers have also rekindled the allegations of Manoj Prabhakar on the menace of match-fixing in Indian cricket.

While reams of newsprint are being devoted to allegations of betting and match-fixing with even Board officials trading charges on the issue, a news magazine recently named four Indian cricketers, including Kapil, for allegedly receiving financial gratification from the bookies.

Asked about the charges, Kapil fumes, “Journalists never bother to cross-check facts. They should have seen the records of finances with my chartered accountant before levelling the charges.”

The legendary all-rounder says competition within the burgeoning media circles leads to “such mud-slinging and sensational stories in which truth is the first casualty.”

“Ten years back, there used to be 10 reporters chasing me and now there are over 200 … and there is always the competition to put out something sensational,” he explains.

In the newsmagazine, a supreme court lawyer quoted a bookie as alleging that he had paid Rs 1 crore in cash and Rs 25 lakh by cheque to Kapil Dev for betting considerations while being questioned by Mumbai Crime Branch. The bookie is also reported to have alleged that he picked up Kapil’s bill at the hotel holiday inn for his “favours during the 1994-95 series in New Zealand”. Kapil retired from international cricket in November, 1994.

“When we go for modelling asignments, the company pays the hotel bills etc … anyone is free to check up with my chartered account and glance through my earnings for 10 years,” he says imploring journalists to “probe the issue on their own”.

As the Cronje episode began to unfold with bookie Sanjeev Chawla, the prime accused in the case, in London, eyebrows in certain quarters were raised when mediapersons seeking Kapil’s reactions traced him in London while he was en route to the United States.

Asked about the purpose of his visit, Kapil suggests to seek clarification from his travel agent as to when his overseas travel plans were finalised. “I cannot help it if my overseas business trip coincided with the surfacing of the Cronje controversy. I could not undertake the trip earlier being on tours with the Indian team,” he adds.

When contacted by UNI

, Kapil’s travel agent for the last five years, Kapil Kumria, said he received the intimation about the travel plans of the former India captain and one of his company’s managers in January, but these were finalised in March.

“As per the original plans, Kapil and general manager in his company, Rohit Duggal, were to visit London, New York and San Francisco and come back via Singapore. However, due to an engagement relating to launch function of some sports awards in London, Kapil could not visit Singapore,” Kumria said. Kapil had left for London en route the United States alongwith Duggal on the night of April 9.

“Anybody is free to find out what my trip was all about,” Kapil says adding, “In San Francisco, I had an engagement with a company (goyogi.com).”

Kapil maintains that he was never approached by a bookie during his cricketing career and calls for inquiry at the highest level to clean up the game. “The media can play a crucial role in sending the images in the right perspective,” he feels.

Testifying before the YV Chandrachud committee, set up by BCCI to probe Prabhakar’s allegations that he was offered money by a teammate during the 1994 Singer Cup series in Colombo, Kapil had said there was largescale betting in cricket. “Those who lose their bets are the ones to blame the players for playing bad deliberately,” he had said. He had also said many people tried to get friendly with players to increase their own importance and later “circulated all kinds of stories”.

“They also try to get information from the players on the basis of which, I guess, they may be laying bets. If they win, they would go back to the player and offer a gift … I am of the opinion that the board should set up a private agency to find out the assets of players. That will give some clue whether players lay bets or agree to fix matches,” he is quoted as saying in the Justice Chandrachud committee report. The report was tabled in Parliament last week, almost two-and-a-half years after being submitted to BCCI, following persistent pressure from various quarters to make it public.

Cuddling daughter Amiya while wife Romi entertained guests at the launch of her business venture `This N That’, display of an array of designer home furnishings and gift-wrapping ideas, Test cricket’s second highest wicket-taker exuded a sense of agony and disbelief as the game stands disreputed. “I feel low … I am ashamed to be a sportman as my fraternity is being viewed with suspicion,” he added remorsefully. (UNI)