CBI on a sticky wicket over match-fixing probe

By Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI, MAY 1. The CBI finds itself in a fix over conducting an all-encompassing probe into the charges of match-fixing in cricket.

With the Government announcing a CBI inquiry into the charges in Parliament on Friday, the agency has little choice in the matter but to take a dip headlong into the murky waters of betting in cricket.

With charges of match-fixing, influence of bookies and involvement of players flying thick and fast, the agency is left wondering how to determine the parameters of the probe.

Though there has been a widespread demand in and outside Parliament for a CBI probe in the wake of disclosures by the Delhi police about the former South African captain, Hansie Cronje, the agency is likely to find it tough to pick up the threads of the probe.

Startling disclosures of match-fixing were made two years ago by a weekly newsmagazine; the controversy has refused to fade away since then. While a former cricket administrator has alleged that virtually every match played in the world is fixed and the game is in the grip of the mafia, others have reacted by throwing a challenge to disclose the names.

The reference to the CBI from the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry is likely to be ``general'' in nature and would confine itself to allegations about Indian cricketers involved in match- fixing. Though reports of Indian bookies and middlemen being involved are doing the rounds, the crucial question is whether any Indian cricketer is involved in the scandal.

Another slippery area of the probe is the timeframe. Senior CBI officials, who requested anonymity, said the probe would be confined to matches played by the Indian team in the country and abroad. ``In what manner a cricket match was fixed, why it was fixed, who fixed it and when it was done, these will be the questions which the CBI is expected to investigate. The CBI will also have to fix the criminal liability after the probe and this could relate to the offences of cheating and gambling. A roving inquiry is what the agency is expected to do.''

Sources said that given the ``sweeping nature'' of the probe, the agency would need to function as a Commission of Inquiry. The task of the CBI will not be easy as the Delhi police will continue with its case relating to Hansie Cronje.

That the Government was inclined to entrust the inquiry to the CBI had become clear after the Youth Affairs and Sports Minister, Mr. S.S. Dhindsa's meeting with cricketers and administrators here on Thursday. A day later it was made official in Parliament.

Mr. Dhindsa stated that keeping in view the ``sentiments'' expressed by members in both Houses and the ``sensitivity'' of the case, the Government had decided to hand it over to the CBI for an appropriate inquiry and necessary action. ``It is hoped that this inquiry will clear the air of rumours and suspicion surrounding this subject,'' he said, adding that the case registered by the Delhi police against Cronje and others would be pursued by it to the ``logical conclusion''.

If the statement provides any clue, the CBI would have to begin with news items in magazines and newspapers and statements of prominent cricket administrators and players. The BCCI president, Mr. A.C. Muthiah, has stated that he was prepared to support any form of inquiry the Government would announce.

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