Stay away from players, Azhar told

Yesterday, Azhar, accompanied by chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar and some top CAB officials, had casually walked over to the Indian team’s dressing room overlooking the ground, exchanging a round of pleasantries with Murali Kartik and a few others.

That was when the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit officer at the match, former CBI stalwart NS Virk, politely asked Azhar to step aside and stay away from interacting with the players at the ground when the match was on.

It happened shortly after the tea break, after Azhar and few other former international players were driven around the ground in a celebratory lap on a golf cart.

Virk is the South Asia head of the Anti-Corruption Unit, and attends international matches involving south Asian teams.

When contacted by The Indian Express this evening, Virk refused to speak, explaining that he cannot come on record, citing ICC regulations. Later however, a reliable source in the ACCU narrated the story to this daily.

Confirming what happened, the top ACCU source said that since there are defined legal guidelines from the ICC on this front, the ICC’s anti-corruption official could only exercise his right to advise the offender (read: Azharuddin), and do no more than that.

“Rules say he (Azhar) is still officially a banned cricketer. And the organisers of the match told the officer that he is here in the capacity of an invitee and as a former Indian captain. Despite that, the ACCU official had a word with Azhar, and asked him not to talk to the players in the dressing room or anywhere else at the ground during the match,” he said.