BCCI firm on action against tainted cricketers
Even as confusion on the nature of punishment to be meted out to the tainted cricketers remains
confounded, a top cricket board official today asserted 'political pressures' would not dilute any action by BCCI.
"Ban on players will be slapped according to the degree
of misdeeds committed by the cricketers who have been indicted
by the CBI," said the official on condition of anonimity.
"We will not be cowed down by political pressures,
applied directly and through some of the Board officials," he
said.
His clarification comes in the wake of reports that some of the indicted cricketers were attempting to use their
political clout to ward off any action against them.
However, he could not state whether the proposed action on the cricketers - Mohd Azaruddin, Ajay Sharma, Manoj
Prabhakar, Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia - would be based on the old Code of Conduct or the new one, which was passed at the Bangalore meeting in August last. "Legal opinions have been ascertained on these," he added.
If the old Code of Conduct was applied for awarding the punishment, BCCI would be ignoring the Code of International
Cricket Council despite being a party to the resolution of ICC in July last in this regard.
Even the appointment of K Madhavan as its anti-corruption commissioner was made in line with ICC decision.
Some of the heavyweight members of the Board had suggested that the old code should be applied as the cricketers
involvement in match fixing allegations pertain to the period when the BCCI's old Code was in force.
As per the old Code there could only be a maximum of two years ban for any offence by cricketers and administrators,
while the new code provides for a life ban and five year ban including fines for different offences.
Meanwhile, well informed sources said the announcement on the punishment was likely to be delayed as the Disciplinary
Committee comprising A C Muthiah (chairman), Kamal Morarka and K N Ramprasad was yet to meet again as decided by the Special General body in Calcutta on November 29 last.
The sources said the Committee, on November 27, had only questioned the five players and had not taken any decision as one of the member even walked out the meeting. Unable to arrive at any decision whether to apply old or new code of
conduct, the Special General body in Calcutta pushed the ball back into the court of the Disciplinary Committee for a
decision.
Muthiah had announced at a press conference in Calcutta
that the 'announcement of punishment to the tainted cricketers
will be made in Chennai on Monday or Tuesday'.
Apart from fixing the quantum of punishment to be meted out, the Committee would also decide whether to disburse the benevolent fund and arrange benefit matches for the cricketers who had lied to the BCCI.
Mail Cricket Editor
