3 India Tests under scanner in pitch-fixing sting; BCCI, CA to wait and watch

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Test matches featuring heavyweights India and Australia could have been among those influenced by match-fixers in the last two years, a sting operation has alleged but the two Boards have decided to wait for the completion of an ongoing ICC probe before acting on the sensational claims.

The sting has been carried out by Al Jazeera channel and the matches in question are India vs Sri Lanka (Galle, July 26-29, 2017), India vs Australia (Ranchi, March 16-20, 2017) and India vs England (Chennai, December 16-20, 2016). The first and third Tests mentioned were won by India while the Ranchi encounter ended in a draw.

The allegations -- pitch could have been doctored at the behest of fixers (India vs Sri Lanka), and involvement of some Australian and England players in spot-fixing the other two games. However, no Indian player's name has cropped up in any wrongdoing.

The Indian connection to the latest scandal is former Mumbai cricketer Robin Morris, who is now alleged to be a match-fixer. The BCCI said it would wait for the outcome of the ICC investigation before deciding on stopping his pension for a 42-match first-class career.

"We believe ICC has started its probe. Let them complete that and pronounce Morris guilty. The BCCI will only act when they have the verdict in hand," a senior office-bearer of the Board told PTI today.

He also said that Morris, who has also played 51 List A matches in his career is not currently involved in any BCCI projects.

"We need to check with our Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) whether Morris' name was there on the suspect list. Secondly, he is not associated with any BCCI or state unit project currently from where we need to pull him out.

"So the only thing left is BCCI domestic cricketers' pension of Rs 22,500 (after deductions). If he is getting that pension, BCCI is well within its rights to cancel that but only after he has been proven guilty," the official said.

Morris, on his part, reportedly denied any wrongdoing and cried conspiracy before turning his mobile phone off and has deleted his Facebook account.

Cricket Australia too responded cautiously and said it would need more details before acting.

"Although not having been provided an opportunity to view the documentary or any raw footage, our long-standing position on these matters is that credible claims will be treated very seriously and fully investigated," CA Chief Executive James Sutherland said in a statement.

"Neither the ICC or Cricket Australia is aware of any credible evidence linking Australian players to corruption in the game. We urge Al Jazeera to provide all unedited materials and any other evidence to the ICC investigation team, so, if appropriate, a full and thorough investigation can be conducted," he added.

ECB Chief Executive Tom Harisson also dismissed the allegations surrounding the 2016 India-England Test in Chennai.

"There is nothing we have seen that would make us doubt any of our players in any way whatsoever," Harrison said in a ECB statement.

"The limited information we have been given has been discussed with all the England players. They emphatically deny the allegations, have stated categorically that the claims are false and they have our full support."