Cronje's confessions

AS EXPECTED, THE testimony of Hansie Cronje before the King Commission, which is investigating allegations of bribery and match-fixing in South African cricket, was the most dramatic. By claiming that former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin introduced him to a bookie, Cronje has obliquely implied that Indian cricket is also afflicted with the baneful influence of bookmakers and match-fixers. He has also suggested that there was an element of complicity between Pakistan captain Salim Malik - who has been banned for life for alleged match-fixing - and another bookmaker. Predictably, there have been varied reactions to what Cronje has said but the important thing is to view both his testimony and the rejoinders it evoked in the right perspective. To begin with, Cronje's remarks on Azharuddin's role are not (yet) corroborated. Then, even if one were to assume what he claimed was true, the charge he has levelled is hardly direct and is more in the way of insinuation. (To introduce someone to a bookie is no crime by itself though the implication clearly was that Azharuddin was well-connected with a person who made it his business to fix cricket matches.) Finally, there is the question of Cronje's own credibility which has been severely dented by a succession of lies and half-truths since the Delhi police charged him in April with match-fixing - something Azharuddin has lost no time in pointing out.

At the same time, Azharuddin's denial leaves a few things to be desired. For one, it would have been far better had the former captain's denial thrown some light on the core of Cronje's veiled accusation. Does he know a bookmaker by the name of Mukesh Gupta? Did he have any contact with this person during South Africa's tour of India in 1996, when Mukesh Gupta was said to have handed over money to Cronje to lose a Test match? Azharuddin's denial was wrapped up in needless generalities; moreover, it was accompanied by an outlandish conspiracy theory. To claim that Cronje's comments were part of a pre-planned move by the South African authorities to retaliate against India for exposing their captain to a match-fixing scandal is preposterous. Azharuddin must know that this thesis - which is weakened by the mere fact that Cronje also implicated Salim Malik, a Pakistani - is simply too far-fetched for anyone to buy.

Be that as it may, the Union Sports Minister, Mr. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, has jumped the gun by suggesting that Azharuddin ought to stay out of the cricket team till his name is cleared. For one, Azharuddin has been implicated (and that too somewhat tenuously) by no more than a fellow cricketer. Since this is not the first time something like this has been said, what makes Cronje's remarks so special to warrant Azharuddin's removal from the team? For another, given that the CBI is at present investigating the bribery/match-fixing phenomenon in India, shouldn't such decisions be taken on the basis of evidence unearthed by it? The CBI, which maintains it is unaware of any bookmaker by the name of Mukesh Gupta, is certain to follow up this lead thrown up by Cronje, though where it will take the agency is anybody's guess. The former South African captain is to be cross-examined next week on the basis of what he has already said. The hearings before the King Commission over the last couple of weeks have already shaken South Africa, having thrown up fresh evidence of the extent to which the bribery/match-fixing phenomenon had permeated South African cricket. Whether the hearings will unearth anything else of relevance to the world of Indian cricket is something that will be known very soon.

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Section  : Opinion
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