Even though the Board of Control for Cricket in India is tightlipped about the recent allegations made by Vinod Kambli, former India opener Chetan Chauhan feels the Board should seriously look into the matter.
- Decision to field 1996 WC semis stunned me: Kambli
Chauhan says since Kambli was a part of the squad, "the claims should be investigated properly, and those found guilty should be punished".
Kambli has raised question marks about India's 1996 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka, hinting that the match could have been fixed.
The former India middle-order batsman has questioned then captain Mohammad Azharuddin's decision to field first in the semi-final even though it was unanimously decided that the team would bat after winning the toss.
Azharuddin, however, rubbished the claims. He told CNN IBN that Kambli "must have been sleeping when the decision to bowl was taken" and "it was a collective one".
"We wanted to chase after we lost to Sri Lanka in Kotla in the previous match," said Azharuddin.
Asked whether the Delhi police plans to reopen the investigation in light of the court proceedings and subsequent conviction of some leading Pakistan cricketers, Ashok Chand, Deputy Commissioner Special Branch, said the court case in spot-fixing in England has no bearing on the case registered by the Delhi police.
The Delhi Police, which unearthed the match-fixing scandal involving late former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje and also implicated Azharuddin, said the case could be re-investigated.
"We are waiting for the forensic report on voice samples collected by us during the investigations. There is no question of re-opening the case because we had never closed the case. We have conducted our own investigations and CBI investigated the case on its own," Chand told rediff.com on Friday.
The Delhi police, meanwhile, is waiting for a report on the authenticity of tape recordings of cell phone conversations that allegedly contain discussions between Cronje and London-based bookmaker Sanjeev Chawla.
After initially denying their involvement in the match-fixing scandal, both Cronje and Herschelle Gibbs admitted to the King Commission of Inquiry, set up in South Africa, that they had conspired to fix matches for cash.
"We need to interrogate Sajeev Chawla to unravel the whole truth behind match-fixing," Chand said.
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