VI. CONCLUSIONS
The enquiry conducted by CBI has disclosed the following:
Small scale betting on cricket matches has been taking
place in India for a long time. Betting on a major scale
started only after India won the World Cup in 1983.Betting on cricket matches has been on the upswing ever
since live telecast of cricket matches started on a regular
basis.Betting on cricket matches in India has attained a
measure of sophistication and it has spread across the
length and breadth of the country. The use of computer and
mobile phone has given a major fillip to this racket.Betting on cricket in India, in terms of monetary turnover and volume of transactions, is perhaps the biggest
organised racket. According to rough estimates, the
turn-over, on account of betting on any One-Day
International match anywhere in the world, runs into
hundreds of crores.There are clear signals that the underworld mafia has
started taking interest in the betting racket and can be
expected to take overall control of this activity, if not
checked immediately with a firm hand. It does appear that
what may have been small-time wagering (which to some
extent is inevitable) has now been replaced by an organised
syndicate, and this syndicate has started interfering with
the purity of the sport. It has been the negligence of the
police and the other regulatory authorities, that has
allowed wagering to turn into an organised racket,
particularly with the involvement of the underworld mafia.
The game has lost a considerable degree of its credibility
already, and it will be a matter of national shame if the
problems which are, to some extent apparent from the
evidence gathered and narrated in the report, are not
immediately and decisively resolved.With a large amount of money at stake in the betting
racket on cricket, it makes sense for both bookies and
punters to manipulate results of cricket matches. This has
resulted in their developing a close and unholy
relationship with cricketers.Ajay Sharma introduced Md.Azharuddin, Manoj Prabhakar
and Ajay Jadeja to Bookie Mukesh Kr. Gupta @ M.K. @ John.
He also introduced Mohd. Azharuddin to big time punter Ajay
Gupta. Ajay Sharma received lakhs of rupees from M.K. and
Ajay Gupta & Associates for this service. He also provided
information regarding matches to M.K. Gupta and was also
instrumental in getting a tailor-made pitch prepared for a
Test Match on the instructions of M.K. for monetary
considerations. The difficulties in gathering any concrete
evidence to establish any of these facts in a court of law
has been considerably accentuated by the lapse of time
between the events and the investigation. If the matters
had been investigated contemporaneously, perhaps far more
effective results could have been attained.Manoj Prabhakar is close to a number of bookies and
punters, namely, Mukesh Kr. Gupta @ M.K. @ John, Tipu
Kohli, Anand Saxena, Rajesh Kalra, Sanjeev Chawla, Sunil
Dara and Mashal, etc. He introduced a number of foreign
players and also provided 'information' about Test Matches,
One-Day Internationals, one Ranji Trophy Match to bookie
M.K. Gupta @ John. For introducing the foreign players and
providing 'information' regarding matches, he received
large sums of money from M.K. and Tipu Kohli.Md. Azharuddin has fixed matches/performance for a
bookie 'M.K. Gupta' @ 'M.K.' @ 'John' and big time punters
Ajay Gupta and Associates, with the help of Ajay Jadeja and
Nayan Mongia. He has also received large sums of money
running into lakhs from M.K. Gupta and Ajay Gupta and
Associates directly and also on a number of occasions
through Dr. Ali Irani, who was well aware of the activities
of Md. Azharuddin and the reason for the payments. The
involvement of the Captain of the cricket team is
qualitatively different from the involvement of stray
players, such as Ajay Sharma or even other important
players. It is the Captain of the team who has to keep the
closest watch on the game on the field. Besides, the
involvement of the Captain, particularly in efforts to
underperform, destroys the very ethos of the team event.Ajay Jadeja is very close to some bookies and big time
Punters, namely, Uttam Chand @ Topi, Rattan Mehta, Rajesh
Kalra, Krishan Kumar (implicated in the Hansie Cronje
case). He gave 'assessment' of cricket matches to Rattan
Mehta, a big time punter. He also passed on 'information'
to bookie Uttam Chand @ Topi, for monetary considerations.
He also met M.K. Gupta and offered his services for fixing
matches and also received money from M.K.at this meeting.
He is also named by Md. Azharuddin as one of the players
who was with him in fixing matches.Nayan Mongia has been named by Md. Azharuddin as one of
the players involved with him in fixing matches.Dr. Ali Irani was aware of the activities of Md.
Azharuddin in fixing matches and also acted as a conduit
for receiving payments on behalf of Azharuddin from M.K. &
Associates. Azharuddin also paid him money on each occasion
that he received payments on his behalf.A number of foreign players were introduced by Manoj
Prabhakar to bookie M.K. Gupta @ M.K. @ John who either
offered or paid money to them. Some of them are:(i) Alec Stewart,
(ii) Brian Lara,
(iii) Mark Waugh,
(iv) Dean Jones,
(v) Hansie Cronje,
(vi) Arvinda D'Silva,
(vii) Arjuna Ranatunga,
(viii) Martin Crowe,
(ix) Salim Malik.
Asif Iqbal, former Cricket Captain of Pakistan, is close
to Anil Steel, bookie of Mumbai. Asif Iqbal has, on
occasions, provided information about cricket matches to
Anil Steel and has also received gifts from him.Big time punter Rattan Mehta is extremely close to the
entire Pakistan team who have even visited his restaurant
in Vasant Vihar. He claims he is particularly close to
Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-Ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar.
He also claims to have received opinion on matches from
them and also having given 'small gifts' to Pakistan
players on a few occasions.The 'bona fides' of the allegation of Manoj Prabhakar
that he was offered Rs.25 lakhs by Kapil Dev to
underperform in a cricket match against Pakistan during
Singer Cup in Srilanka in 1994 has not been established.The BCCI has been the single biggest beneficiary of the
enormous commercial success of the sport. It is a matter of
record that the BCCI earns substantial sums from media
exposure of the game -- which media exposure is in fact
responsible for the qualitative change that has come about
in the entire scenario. It would be the elementary duty of
anybody purporting to be the apex regulatory body of a
sport, to keep a close watch on the performance of the
team, and to thoroughly investigate into the slightest
gossip, leave alone suspicion, of any malpractice.The BCCI, however, did not care to even investigate
allegations which were bound to have been within their
knowledge (for example, where there was a serious
controversy over a slowdown in the run rate in the Kanpur
one-dayer, 1994). Although, there is no concrete evidence
to suggest the direct involvement of any of the members of
the BCCI in match fixing, their resolute indifference does
give rise to suspicion that there was perhaps more than
that meets the eye. It defies credulity to believe that the
apex body was oblivious to such rampant match fixing and,
therefore, did not find the need to investigate thoroughly
the results of matches which are patently questionable.The appointments of professionals like coaches,
physiotherapists, selectors are made more or less in an
arbitrary manner. Names are suggested by the members of the
BCCI and its affiliate Units whose knowledge and insight
into cricket is questionable.Although the BCCI today is cash rich, it does appear
that, over the years, it has undersold Indian Cricket with
regard to guarantee money, etc.BCCI is in control of huge amounts of public funds
without any concomitant rules, regulations/laws that govern
the manner in which public funds are to be utilised. There
is no accountability of any office-bearer of the BCCI
similar to the one imposed on public servants when dealing
with public funds.There are many facets of match fixing and related
malpractices in cricket which need further investigation.
In order to unravel the entire sordid nexus between the
cricket players, bookies and punters, the CBI enquiry will
continue.
A FINAL WORD
The crisis facing cricket today is very different and far
more sinister than the 'body line' controversy. Cricket, as
it is played at present, does not appear to be the same
game played by Sir Don Bradman or Neville Cardus wrote
about. The romanticism associated with the game is perhaps
gone for ever. Increasingly, in the playing fields around
the world, the music of a sweetly timed stroke is being
replaced by the harsh cacophony of ringing cell phones.
Both inducements and threats to players are bound to
increase in view of the big money involved in gambling on
cricket and the entry of the underworld. Major corrective
steps need to be taken to put cricket back on rails.
