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Ajay Sharma denies role in match-fixing

Delhi cricket captain Ajay Sharma on Thursday said he has nothing to do with match-fixing, as reported by an Indian magazine.

"I am prepared to declare my assets and stand scrutiny to clear my name,'' he told total-cricket.com from Lancashire, where he is contracted to play league cricket. "It is all rubbish. There is no truth in what all has been published. I’m absolutely clean."

The Delhi-based magazine had given a blow-by-blow account of the calls Sharma made to former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin during the recent series against South Africa. The magazine has alleged that he may have connections with fugitives wanted by Delhi police for heinous crimes and also match-fixing as he took a flight to London via Dubai. Sharma, however, refutes the claim, saying he has tickets to prove that he took a direct flight to London on April 20.

"I have come to England to play professional cricket contrary to the report that I am running away from the law,'' said Sharma, who despite superb performances on the domestic cricuit was a flop international player.

Providing further details of his wealth, he said he still moved around in his 1993 model Maruti Zen. "I only have one flat at Vasant Kunj in Delhi and am a regular income tax payee. I work as a deputy manager in the Central Warehousing Commission,'' he said.

Countering suspicions over his association with Azharuddin he said, "Azhar and my friendship dates back to 1987. We are thick pals. We used to share rooms. I always wish him well, even this time when he was going to play in Sharjah I called up to wish him luck. I gave him a cricket bat in 1992 when he had a lean patch. Soon after he came back with a big 100 in the Calcutta Test. Azhar is very superstitious, since then he insists that I should get bats for him,'' he said.

Sharma said he and his wife had played host to Azharuddin and his wife several times in Delhi. "Is it a crime to get along with ex-colleagues?'' he asked.

Sharma also said that his employers granted him leave for 133 days and Britain gave him a work permit to play. He denied having any financial stake in the Delhi television production company Target Sports International. The only connection is his friendship with owner Navin Kohli, he said.

Agencies