da fazobetai： This week last year saw many a black day for Indian cricket
Anand Vasu03-May-2001This week last year saw many a black day for Indian cricket. ManojPrabhakar, along with Inderjit Singh Bindra, opened up a large can ofworms – the matchfixing saga. About a year ago, Prabhakar, writing acolumn for Cricketnext.com said he had named the player who offeredhim money to underperform to a ‘big gun’ in the government. ButPrabhakar refused to name him in a public forum. He also kept the nameof the government official close to his chest. If Prabhakar thought hecould keep things quiet for a while, he was soon forced to thinkagain.On CNN’s Q & A programme, Bindra revealed that Prabhakar told him thatKapil Dev was the man he named. All hell broke loose in the media. Thebattle lines were drawn clearly, with allegations flying thick andfast. Prabhakar was boxed into a corner and hard-pressed to provideevidence of some kind. For every allegation there was a denial and acounter question, “what proof do you have?”No proof was forthcoming.Prashant Vaidya, former India fast bowler was in the room adjoiningKapil Dev’s room. Naturally, Prabhakar turned to Vaidya for corroborationof the allegation that Kapil Dev offered him 25 lakhs tounderperform in a one-day international. Vaidya, keen to stay out ofthe mess, pleaded ignorance. Although nothing conclusive emerged fromthe episode, bad vibes abounded.On an interview given to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)Kapil Dev broke down and wept bitterly when asked about theallegations of matchfixing. The interview made headlines innewspapers, magazines and websites alike, for all the wrong reasons. Asection of the media rallied around the ‘fallen icon’ and questionedPrabhakar’s motives. A rival section praised Prabhakar for hisforthright attitude, asking if Kapil Dev’s crying on nationaltelevision was a carefully managed stunt.Following the events and disclosures of that fateful week in May whenthe heat was really on, the Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) was forced to set up commissions of inquiry, investigationpanels and the like. With a bare minimum of international crickethappening, the matchfixing saga kept the media on its toes.But the media were not alone. The Indian Government had a major roleto play, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the IncomeTax officials joining forces and conducting one of the mostsensational investigations in Indian cricket history. When the CBIreleased the report on its findings, the BCCI acted swiftly. Theverdict surprised many, and saddened more. Mohammed Azharuddin andAjay Sharma were banned from playing any cricket conducted under theaegis of the BCCI for life. Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and formerIndia physio Dr Ali Irani were to serve out five year bans.Kapil Dev was exonerated of all charges of betting and matchfixing.It all went very wrong for Manoj Prabhakar. From being the accuser,the tables were turned, and the former Delhi and India all-rounder wasnow the accused. Not just accused, but pronounced guilty as well.Whether you’re a fan of Kapil Dev or Prabhakar makes no difference atthis moment in time. It hardly matters which side of the story youbelieve. Looking back one year later, one thing is clear. Indian crickettook some painful blows. There were several casualties, but wascricket really a winner at the end?