Kapil, Madhavan meet at secret rendezvous
Onkar Singh
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's anti-corruption commissioner K Madhavan on Wednesday confirmed that he had a three-and-a-half hour meeting with former Indian captain and coach
Kapil Dev in Delhi.
"I must apologize to the media for not telling them
about the venue of the meeting because Kapil had
requested me that he wanted to stay away from newsmen.
"I had to respect his wishes and hence I could not tell you where the meeting was held. The meeting was fixed after I received a phone call from
Kapil Dev at 7.30 this morning. I still would not like to disclose the venue to the media, because if in
future someone else wants to use that place for a meeting it could be done without the media glare,"
Madhavan told reporters at a crowded press conference at the Delhi and District Cricket Association grounds
on Wednesday evening.
Asked if the meeting took place in a stadium, Madhavan
said the choice of a stadium would have been the wrong place because Kapil is too big in a playing field.
"I am more comfortable across the table," he said.
According to sources, the meeting took place at Madhavan's residence, in Saket.
"Minutes after he signed the statement, I left my flat," said Madhavan during the course of his briefing. That indeed gave away the venue of the meeting.
Madhavan admitted that the main focus of Wednesday's meeting with the Indian cricket icon centred around Manoj Prabhakar's allegations that the former Indian captain had offered him Rs 2.5 million to under perform in a match
against Pakistan, in the Singer Cup tournament in 1994.
"Yes, we discussed the allegations of Prabhakar and many other new things that came up in last few months. We discussed the Ahmedabad match, and why the declaration was delayed. We also discussed why the
Indian team did not enforce the follow-on in that match.
"We talked on a number of things. I must admit that he was free and frank in his discussions and did not hesitate to answer any question that was put to him.
"At the end of our meeting he went home satisfied ... and I am satisfied with what he has said. But I have yet to
sit down and assess the whole thing. Then I would know
whether to call someone else or not. From tomorrow I will count the trees," he said.
When pointed out that Ajit Wadekar was angry with him because he called him to Delhi at a wrong time,
Madhavan said he had seen reports to that effect in the media.
"When I sent him the letter I did not know that he was contesting the presidentship of the Mumbai Cricket Association. He told me on phone that he had some practical difficulty and wanted a change in the date. We agreed to meet on a new date, but he did not ask for a change in the venue," he stressed.
Would you be calling Navjot Singh Sidhu?
"That would depend on how I assess the whole thing. If it is necessary I may call him," Madhavan clarified.
Why not call Mukesh Gupta, whose statements form the very basis of the CBI report?
"I can call only those who come under the BCCI. If Mukesh Gupta wants to come and appear before me on his own I have no problem in examining him. My scope is limited in this matter. Otherwise, I have a very wide term of reference. I could investigate any charge of corruption, misconduct by players and several other things related to the game of cricket," he said.
So how far has he got with his investigation?
"I feel I am right in the middle of the whole thing," he quipped.
Asked what would he do if he found that both Kapil and Wadekar are guilty of match-fixing practices, Madhavan replied: "I would cross the bridge when I come to it."
The match-fixing scandal - The Complete Story
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