Sri Lanka Cricket shoots down Bindra’s revelations

The IPL spot-fixing scandal is opening up a can of worms like no other despite the best efforts of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) to limit the damage ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) President I.S. Bindra has created a fresh controversy by claiming that a BCCI official had arm-twisted the Sri Lankan board to withdraw a report on the violation of anti corruption regulations during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2010, the Indian media reported.

However, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) says it read with surprise an account of an incident that supposedly led to the filing of an anti-corruption report during the Indian tour of Sri Lanka in 2010 and the subsequent withdrawal of the said report due to ‘arm-twisting’ by the Indian Cricket Board.

“We wish to state that such an incident did not take place as alleged and no report was submitted to the Indian team manager nor was an incident report filed with the Anti Corruption Unit of the ICC which was present during the series. The allegations that follow are therefore not pertinent,” Ashley De Silva, Acting Chief Executive Officer of SLC, said in a statement.

Earlier, in an article on his website, the former BCCI chief made three points in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal and recounted an incident during that tour.

“On India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2010, due to the LTTE operation, a retired general of Sri Lankan army was given charge of the Indian team’s security and he ensured the tightest security arrangements, including installing CCTV cameras on every floor and the lobby of the hotels where the Indian team was staying,” Bindra claimed.

“At night an official travelling with the team had taken a girl into the room of an Indian player who is also a prominent member of CSK team for last six seasons. It was observed on the footage that the girl spent the night prior to a game. It was so alleged that girl was sent by an individual on ICC’s list of suspected bookies. This incidence was in gross violation of security as well as anti corruption regulations,” he said.

“On the basis of General’s report, the Sri Lankan Board reported these sordid details in writing to the team manager along with documentary evidence and also informed anti corruption official of ICC. It is understood that under pressure from an official of the Indian board, the Sri Lankan board was made to withdraw the report. Mihir Bose filed this story in The Sunday Times, which was rubbished by the BCCI spokesperson, and the Sri Lankan cricket board was arm-twisted into denying the whole episode,” he said. Bindra said: “The above narrative leads me to the second major point that could this incidence have nipped an emerging malfeasance in the bud and are we paying the price now?”

Interestingly, Bindra chose to make this claim on the eve of the Emergency Working Committee meeting of the BCCI which resulted in N. Srinivasan stepping aside a president temporarily.