Decision to field in 1996 WC SF was collective: Wadekar

Former India captain Ajit Wadekar reacted sharply to Vinod Kambli's claims that the 1996 World Cup semi-final between India and Sri Lanka was fixed.

"My question is, if he knew everything, why did he wait for 15 years," Wadekar said.

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Kambli had, on Thursday, claimed that Wadekar knew everything about the incident and had even criticised the decision.

'Our team manager at that time Ajit Wadekar was aware of everything. He had even written an article afterwards that Vinod Kambli had been made a scapegoat,' he had said.

Wadekar, however, insisted that electing to field first was a collective decision, as the team felt that the Sri Lankan's were good chasers.

"In the team meeting before the match it was decided that India would field in the event of winning the toss. The decision was taken after consultation with the entire team," Wadekar said on Friday.

He went on to add that even though he and Sandeep Patil were of the opinion that the wicket would turn, the team still decided to field keeping in mind the chasing prowess of the Sri Lankans.

Former India cricketers Arun Lal and Atul Wassan also criticised Kambli for raking up the issue after nearly 15 years.

"Kambli's credibility is a problem; I don't know why he is talking about it after so many years", said Wassan.