Cricketing legend Kapil Dev came out in defence of tainted batsman Abhijit Kale and rapped the Board of Control for Cricket in India for slapping a suspension on the player before proving his guilt.
"How can you ban a player when he is not proven guilty?" Kapil said when asked to comment on the charges leveled against Kale of offering bribe to two national selectors for a berth in the Indian senior team.
Kapil, who himself had been in the eye of a controversy following team-mate Manoj Prabhakar's allegation that he had offered Prabhakar money for match-fixing, said "I have also gone through this phase. So I have complete support for this person (Kale)."
Rapping the BCCI action to suspend the first class cricketer before any evidence was found against him, Kapil said "if it (the allegation) is not proven, I wonder how the Board will compensate him. Will the Board officials leveling the charges be punished?"
The former all-rounder also questioned the haste with which the Board meted out the punishment to Kale.
"If a finger was raised against a Board official, would BCCI have acted against him without the case being proved?"
He also asked the media to exercise restrain. "Don't humiliate the game. It's a great game. Don't bring it down".
On Friday the BCCI suspended Kale from playing any cricket conducted by the Board after national selectors Kiran More and Pranab Roy alleged that he had offered them Rs 10 lakh each for a place in the national side.
Kapil, who was here along with former England skipper Mike Artherton for the Heritage Consular Golf Tournament at the Tollygunge Club, also criticised BCCI for the poor performance of the Indian team in Test matches.
"In the last 20 years, we have improved as a one-day side but have gone from bad to worse in the Test matches," said the 1983 World Cup winning captain. "The Board should look into it. If the team cannot perform, the Board should take responsibility".
About India's prospects in their tour Down Under, where they would play four Test matches before a triangular series also involving Zimbabwe, Kapil said he hoped the team, led by Sourav Ganguly, would fare well.
Kapil said the loss in the tri-series final against Australia on November 18 here should not dent the morale of the side. "They should not lose heart. They had lost to a better side," he remarked.
About the absence of veteran speedstar Javagal Srinath, who announced his retirement just before the Australian tour, Kapil said "he (Srinath) has been playing for long. His absence should be felt. But you have to play with whatever resources you have".
Asked if he would be interested to be the bowling coach of the Indian team, Kapil said he was never given a proposal by BCCI in this regard.
"The Board never asked me (to be the bowling coach). So how can I say about it?" said Kapil, the highest Test wicket taker for India.