M A I N   N E W S

It’s personal grudge: Kapil
No comment: Azhar
Shastri confirms claim

NEW DELHI, May 25 (PTI) — Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev tonight denied former teammate Manoj Prabhakar’s allegation that he offered him a bribe to play poorly in a match six years ago and attributed the charge to the latter holding “personal grudge” against him.

The former India skipper also made light of Ravi Shastri confirming that Prabhakar had mentioned the episode during that Colombo one-day tournament in 1994 and said, “For one Shastri all others whom Manoj said will vouch for him have refused to comment and people like Sunil Gavaskar have come out in my support”.

“Why couldn’t Shastri say this in the past six years. Were these people sleeping all this time. It is a personal grudge because Manoj was never my type of person. This seems to be much bigger than what I thought it was initially,” Kapil Dev told a packed press conference.

But he ruled out quitting as India coach and said he would indeed travel to Dhaka for the Asia Cup. “I will play. I will play hard and play tough,” he said.

He said he would definitely take legal action against Prabhakar for his allegation and said never in his career had anyone ever approached him nor had he done it.

“If I had to pay him money, I would have done that to make him play better,” he said sarcastically.

A visibly agitated Kapil Dev, who addressed a hurriedly arranged press conference, lambasted Prabhakar and questioned his credibility and also castigated the media for “playing up” the ex-all rounder’s allegation.

“Has any player other than Manoj said I have ever asked anyone to fix a match during my 20-year career? Overnight someone says such things and you (media) believe it. I have not even talked to him for years.

Then where is the question of my offering him money to lose a match?” he asked.

Asked why he thought Prabhakar was making such an allegation against him and no one else, Kapil Dev said once during a game in Leeds he picked Madan Lal ahead of Prabhakar, who was annoyed with it.

Kapil Dev took umbrage at even anyone questioning his integrity and questioned Prabhakar’s credibility and his business dealings.

Asked how he had campaigned for Prabhakar during the 1996 Lok Sabha elections if they were not on good terms, Kapil Dev said it was a gesture which he had extended to former India players Chetan Chauhan and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. “He requested and I said I will make a brief appearance. That’s all,” he said.

He attributed Prabhakar’s charges to “personal jealousy and animosity”. “Manoj did not like me from day one ... In a match in Leeds, I had got Madan Lal into the side because of which Manoj could not play,’’ he said.

Citing another instance, Kapil said when Manoj had applied for a job in a company of which he was the director, he had not approved his appointment as “I did not want to be associated with a person like him’’.

The Indian coach alleged that Manoj was himself indulging in corrupt practices in his business deals and a warrant had been issued against his firm.

MUMBAI: Former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri has confirmed to a website Manoj Prabhakar did indeed tell him that current India coach Kapil Dev had allegedly offered him money to underperform in the 1994 Singer Cup tournament in Sri Lanka.

Shastri, who was a TV commentator for that tournament, told total-cricket.com from London: “Manoj did speak to me about exactly this during the tour in Colombo in 1994. My advice to Manoj clear cut was to inform the team management”.

Azhar and Nayan Mongia, who was named by Prabhakar as being in the know of the incident, also refused to comment on the matter, according to another cricket website.

Azhar told the website that he wanted to concentrate on the upcoming Asia Cup and nothing else. Mongia has been quoted as saying: “The CBI is investigating the case, why don’t you ask them? I have nothing to say on this”.

UNI: The CBI probing the match-fixing scandal in the country, is closely examining the statement of former Test all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar to assess the need for questioning the former and present cricketers named by him.

Prabhakar had named former manager Ajit Wadekar, former captain Mohammed Azharuddin, wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia, former opener Navjot Singh Sidhu, former medium pacer Prashant Vaidya, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri as the persons who he had told about the Rs 25 lakh ‘bribe offer’ made by Indian coach Kapil Dev in 1994.

The CBI investigating team, headed by Joint Director R.N.Sawani, had seen news reports regarding the interview of Manoj Prabhakar and were examining them, Bureau sources said.

Asked whether the investigating agency was considering examining these ex and present players, the sources told UNI that: “We may. But nothing can be said right now.”

About what transpired at the questioning of Prabhakar by the CBI sleuths yesterday and also whether he had provided the same input to the agency during his examination, the sources were tight-lipped.