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The Rediff Interview/Anshuman Gaekwad

'Bacher charges are senseless'

Anshuman Gaekwad, who was coach of the Indian cricket team during the 1999 World Cup, is disturbed. An administrative manager with the Gujarat State Fertiliser Corporation, he is planning a cricket academy with former cricketer Mohinder Amarnath.

He talked to rediff.com's Vikram Vakil in Baroda, about Dr Ali Bacher, Manoj Prabhakar, the Central Bureau of Investigation and, of course, match-fixing. Excerpts from the interview:

You were coach for the last match played between India and Pakistan in the World Cup 1999. Now, Bacher has alleged that it was fixed. Comment

Bacher's allegations are senseless. He claims that Majid Khan told him that. Later, Majid Khan said that he never spoke to Bacher about match-fixing. Since I was manager, I can guarantee you that the match was not fixed. That match was fought neck-and-neck.

The board chief and I were together, planning. The match progressed as per plan. If the players had fixed it, the game would not have progress as planned. And besides that, only if six or more players agree can one fix a match! One, two or three players can't fix a match.

In that case, could more players have been behind the fixing?

Until proved, it is meaningless to talk about it. Some people get a thrill out of these allegations. This two per cent has affected the craze of 98 per cent cricket fans .These kind of controversies have been responsible for the disillusion of real cricket lovers.

Mohammad Azharuddin claimed that he has been blamed for the match-fixing only because he belongs to a minority community

It's not true. That question can never arise. In our country, nobody suffers injustice just because he belongs to a minority community.

What about allegations against Nayan Mongia?

How can I comment on them unless they are proved? If the allegations are substantiated, the strictest punishment should be administered.

Can these allegations be proved?

First, the cricket board investigated the matter but could not find anything substance. Now, the CBI is investigating the case. It is the best agency for such investigations. Let's trust it.

Do you justify the secret video recording by Prabhakar?

It was a case of breach of trust. But, from Manoj's point of view, he wanted to prove that he is not alone in blaming Kapil Dev. May be that's the reason. Considering that, what he did was justified.

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