Kale suspended

Abhijit Kale, the player accused of attempting to bribe national selectors for a place in an Indian team, has been suspended from playing cricket until an inquiry into the matter is over. Jagmohan Dalmiya, addressing a press conference in Kolkata, confirmed that he had received a complaint on November 19. Significantly, Dalmiya said that the alleged bribe was for a place in "the Indian team".

Dalmiya elaborated that the two selectors in question, Kiran More and Pranab Roy, had complained to him about Kale's offer on November 18, during the TVS Cup final. Dalmiya asked them to submit their statement in writing, and they duly did so on November 20.

The inquiry is expected to take 15 days to come to a conclusion, and the results will be placed in front of a disciplinary committee. DV Subbarao, the chairman of the Bar Council of India, will be heading the enquiry. The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) has also instituted a three-member panel to investigate the affair - Kale will be appearing before them on November 22.

Kale, speaking to NDTV, the TV channel that originally broke the story, said: "I am disappointed with the BCCI decision. I am on my way to Mumbai [from Rajkot]. I will talk to my family and decide what steps to take."

Earlier today, it emerged that what was at stake was a place in Indian national team and not the India A team as reported earlier. Ratnakar Shetty, the joint secretary of the board, whose interview to a television channel sparked off the controversy, clarified to Wisden Cricinfo that he never mentioned India A during the course of his interview. "I merely said that the national selectors had been approached."