Tendulkar examined by Madhavan over 1999 Ahmedabad Test
The Vigilance Commissioner of India's cricket Board, K Madhavan has examined batting mastreo Sachin Tendulkar in connection with the controversial Ahmedabad Test match in 1999 when India did not enforce the follow-on against New Zealand despite being
01-Jul-2001
The Vigilance Commissioner of India's cricket Board, K Madhavan has
examined batting mastreo Sachin Tendulkar in connection with the
controversial Ahmedabad Test match in 1999 when India did not enforce
the follow-on against New Zealand despite being in a position to do
so.
Sources in Mumbai today said Tendulkar was examined by Madhavan before
the team left for Zimbabwe last month. They said Tendulkar was the
third person to be questioned by Madhavan, who has been asked by the
BCCI to probe into the controversial Test, in which India, with a lead
of 275 runs, could have easily asked New Zealand to follow-on.
Tendulkar was leading the team in the controversial Test, which was
even probed by the CBI during its investigations into the betting and
match-fixing scandal. However, the sources said Tendulkar was
"examined as a witness only" and his comments were necessary in the
Madhavan probe as he was the captain of the team.
Madhavan, a former Joint Director of CBI, had already examined Ajit
Wadekar (the then manager of the team) and Kapil Dev (the then coach
of the team), the sources said. When appraoched by PTI for his
confirmation, Madhavan, who investigated the famous bank security
scam, refused to comment on the issue. However, he said he was probing
the Ahmedabad Test and would be submitting his report by this month
end after examining another person.
The Ahmedabad Test sparked a serious controversy after the Indian side
did not ask the Kiwis to follow on. The match, which ended in a draw,
was played from October 29 to November 2. About his finding in the
Ahmedabad Test, Madhavan said "my inquires have revealed that the
match was drawn due to certain factors and I cannot say anything
beyond this."
He, however, added that since the Test took place in 1999, it may not
be possible to probe into all the aspects that led to the drawn
result. Besides this, he said the BCCI had been referring to him for
investigating some more cases including the recent ticket scam in Goa.
Comparing his report to the one submitted by the International Cricket
Council's Anti-Corruption Unit chief Sir Paul Condon, Madhavan said
"the terms of references of such inquiries aim at identifying betting.
But this has to be tackled by the police and CBI, who have been doing
a commendable job."
Madhavan favoured making mandatory certain rules against carrying
mobile phones to the match venues or inviting unknown persons to hotel
rooms by players the world over. The BCCI Vigilance Commissioner
commended the Condon report and said "it was well researched and
definitely a step in the right direction."