No benefit for those with outside links

In letters sent to the beneficiaries, BCCI secretary J Y Lele has said: “Due to unavoidable circumstances, permission to hold your benefit matches have been withdrawn for the time being. The inconvenience thus caused is regretted.”

The BCCI’s latest directive comes in the wake of former South African skipper Hansie Cronje’s admission to receiving money from an Indian bookie and the subsequent decision of the South African Board to suspend him. Several South African players were scheduled to participate in the benefit matches for some former India players including Gursharan Singh and Inderjit Singh at Mohali, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Yashpal Sharma, who shifted his benefit match from Mohali (scheduled earlier) to New Delhi as he didn’t want his game to be clubbed with two other matches at the same venue, is hopeful of getting a main sponsor for his game.