Why Azhar? Gambhir blasts CAB invitation to former captain

The outspoken Gautam Gambhir has lashed out at the Cricket Association of Bengal for inviting former skipper Mohammed Azharuddin for the first T20 International against the West Indies.

Gambhir, not one to hold back from expressing his reservations for anyone remotely associated with match-fixing, took to twitter to air his views.

"India may have won today at Eden but I am sorry @bcci, CoA & CAB lost. Looks like the No Tolerance Policy against Corrupt takes a leave on Sundays! I know he was allowed to contest HCA polls but then this is shocking. The bell is ringing, hope the powers that be are listening," Gambhir tweeted.

Repeated calls to CAB president Sourav Ganguly and joint secretary Abhishek Dalmia went unanswered.

Azharuddin was banned for life by the BCCI for his alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal that rocked the cricket world in 2000. However, in 2012, the former captain's ban was overturned by the Andhra High Court.

While the BCCI has never formally issued any statement on the Azharuddin issue for the past few years, he has been a regular feature in the board's events. His financial dues, though, are yet to be cleared.

Earlier this year, Gambhir wasn't happy after Manoj Prabhakar was shortlisted for Delhi coach's job.

It was learnt that Virender Sehwag, one of the members of the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association's Cricket Advisory Committee, didn't like some of the questions that Gambhir had posed for Prabhakar.

Two years ago, the DDCA was forced to replace Ajay Jadeja with Vijay Dahiya after Gambhir made it clear that he won't play if the former remained the coach.

Gambhir has in the past expressed his views on wide-ranging topics from politics, terrorism to sports.