By Murali Krishnan and Shyam Pandharipande, Indo-Asian New Service Feb 7, 2007, 21:46 GMT
New Delhi/Nagpur, Feb 8 (IANS) With the one-day international between India and the West Indies in Nagpur Jan 21 coming under the scanner for match-fixing, authorities in the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the ICC have decided to launch an investigation to find out if a West Indian player was involved in 'underperforming' in more than one match.
'We are in touch with the police to find out more details. This is a serious matter and we have to check it out,' said a senior ICC official.
With the World Cup round the corner, the ACSU has decided to probe the incident after the Nagpur police stumbled upon startling revelations, including taped phone conversations, allegedly between West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels and bookie Mukesh Kochchar, alleged to be an aide of mobster Dawood Ibrahim and a part of an international betting ring.
Samuels made 40 runs in the ODI in question of 60 balls.
'Yes, I heard about this incident. The ACSU is investigating but we are happy to note that no Indian player is involved. Let us see what comes of this,' Rajeev Shukla, media advisor of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told IANS.
Sources said the BCCI is said to have received a letter by the Nagpur police in which they have mentioned of a definitive proof in telephonic conversations, wherein Samuels is said to have leaked vital match information to the bookie. Police have asked for explanation on the same.
'We are trying to find out if Kochchar met Samuels in the hotel room in Nagpur,' a police source told IANS.
India had beaten the West Indies by 14 runs in the ODI, the first of the four-match series that the hosts went on to win 3-1. Batting first, India scored 338 runs for three wickets in 50 overs while the visitors managed to score just 324 for eight wickets in 50 overs.
The ICC has put in place tough restrictions in dressing rooms of players and banned the use of mobile phones of all players during matches.
From telephone records police have reportedly established a 'connection' between Samuels and Kochchar and say that the all-rounder had leaked information like pitch conditions, the West Indies batting order and team strategies.
The letter was sent to BCCI vice-president from the West Zone, Shashank Manohar, by the Nagpur police.
© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service
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