India cricket chief rejects claims of ICC World Cup fix

Published on 12/11/2012 00:00

The chief of Indian cricket has rubbished renewed claims that their World Cup semi-final against Pakistan last year was fixed.

An article in the UK press on Saturday, which included content from a yet-to-be-
published book, alleged that the match had been played out to a pre-planned script that was apparently e-mailed to an English-based sports betting journalist as it was being played. India won the match by 29 runs in Mohali.

Board of Control for Cricket in India president N Srinivasan yesterday reacted angrily to the claims. He said: “I don’t generally comment on such newspaper reports but this is the farthest from the truth. And it is an insult to the 
Indian team which worked hard to win.”

Earlier this year the International Cricket Council denied it was conducting an investigation into the semi-final following reports to the contrary.

Then ICC chief Haroon Lorgat said in a statement: “The story carried by the newspaper, in which it has claimed that the ICC is investigating the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final between India and Pakistan, is baseless and misleading.

“The ICC has no reason or evidence to require an investigation into this match.

“It is indeed sad for spurious claims to be made which only serve to cause doubt on the semi-final of one of the most successful ICC Cricket World Cups ever.”

Ijaz Butt, who was chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board at the time of the match, has called for the current board to take the matter to the ICC.

“I am no longer the chairman and it is not right for me to say anything now but I think the current chairman should take up this issue with the ICC,” he said.