Kapil to sue Bindra for defamation

MUMBAI, MAY 14. Indian coach Kapil Dev has declared that he will sue former cricket board president Inderjit Singh Bindra on defamation charges for dragging his name into the raging match- fixing controversy.

``I am not going to let I.S. Bindra get away with his allegations, he will be sued for defamation,'' reiterated the former Indian captain, according to the website Total- cricket.com on Saturday.

Kapil had, however, refused to speak on the matter when reporters approached him at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. He was here to take part in the exhibition match to raise money for the Prime Minister's drought relief fund between Indian cricket stars and cine stars.

Kapil, who was mentioned by Bindra on CNN as the player who allegedly offered Manoj Prabhakar a bribe in 1994 to underperform, has said that the allegation, without any proof, had caused him irreparable damage, and he had no choice but to take legal recourse.

``I don't know why my name was mentioned without evidence,'' he told the website and once again aired the view that till the mess caused by betting and match-fixing is cleared, India should keep away from international cricket and instead, concentrate on domestic cricket.

``I don't think the players are in the right frame of mind too,'' he said. ``A dropped catch, a run-out, a poor shot will be seen with doubt and suspicion. This will put enormous pressure on the players,'' he has been quoted as having said.

A three-to-six month lay-off from international cricket is the best remedy in the present trying circumstances, according to Kapil. ``Let's concentrate on domestic cricket,'' he has added.

Kapil is to oversee the 10-day conditioning camp for the probables set to commence at Pune from Monday and has decided to speak to the Indian players before taking a final decision about going to Dhaka as coach for the May 28-June 7 Asia Cup, the website said.

Meanwhile according to the secretary of the board, Jayawant Lele, he has already declared his intention to accompany the team to Dhaka to the board.

Talking to Gulf News, Lele denied rumours that the BCCI was in search of a new coach for the team in the light of Sports Minister S.S. Dhindsa's reported statement on the issue. ``As far as the BCCI is concerned, Kapil will join the conditioning camp at Pune on May 15,'' he said.

Asked if the match-fixing scandal had exerted pressure on the Indian players, Lele said, ``I will be meeting the players during the ten-day conditioning camp and will have discussions with them. I am yet to meet any player. So I cannot remark on the impact of this scandal on players.''

Kapil also felt that cricket was in danger of becoming a turf for slanging matches between administrators and players, which would ultimately lead to the ruination of the game, according to the website.

``What's happening is not good. We have to care for the game, not our egos,'' he told the website.

He said it was good that the CBI was investigating the case, and he would cooperate with them totally. ``This episode needs to end fast so that we can get back to the playing ground,'' he said.

``In today's circumstances even Sir Donald Bradman would be suspect if he was bowled for zero in his last innings,'' was his parting quote to the website.

- PTI, UNI

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