M A I N   N E W S

Betting may be legalised

CHANDIGARH, April 15 (PTI) — The Centre will soon initiate “stern steps” to cleanse the game of cricket of betting and match fixing following thorough deliberations with experts, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said here today.

“The Sports Ministry, after holding a meeting with top board officials and cricket players and seeing the outcome of debate on the issue of betting in the ensuing Parliament session will come out with concrete plans to counter such happenings in the game in future”, Mr Dhindsa told PTI here today.

He said that the Ministry would also see if betting be made legal in cricket as in many other sports only after having thorough views on the subject from experts.

“In the light of discussion by a meeting convened by me (Dhindsa) of past presidents and secretaries of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with three former captains in Delhi on April 27, the ministry would decide whether a CBI inquiry or any other probe be ordered into the allegations of match fixing and betting”, he said.

Mr Dhindsa said that he had asked BCCI secretary Jayawant Lele to submit a detailed report about the match-fixing controversy by Monday.

The ministry would also take up seriously the performance of the Indian cricket team in the recent past. “We will try to go into details why our cricket team failed to perform up to the mark in many a matches in the recent past”, he said.

On the reported issuance of warrant of attachment by the Punjab Government against the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), for recovering taxes amounting to about Rs 3.2 crore from the PCA, Mr Dhindsa said that the matter would be sorted out after “holding deliberations with the PCA”.