I saved cricket stars from Indian mafia: Prabhakar
Manoj Prabhakar, who blew the whistle on cricket's match-fixing scandal only to find himself named as a culprit, said his decision to expose illegal betting saved many international players from the deadly wrath of the Indian mafia.
Prabhakar, who played for India for almost a decade, denied in an interview with Sydney's Sun-Herald that he was corrupt but admitted introducing some players to bookmaker Mukesh Gupta -- the kingpin of the player-bookie nexus.
But he insisted he didn't know Gupta was involved in match-fixing.
"If somebody comes and stands in a group it is good manners to introduce them," he said. "It is not my problems what they talk about.
"I did not know what Gupta was doing. When I realised that this guy was into deep shit, I got out of it straight away. When I realised, I quit.
"My conscience is clear. I wanted to support cricket, my country and all international cricketers," the paper quoted him as saying.
"I saved people who could have got involved by blowing the whistle. It starts with just giving information and then they threaten your life. They could have been killed."
Prabhakar blew the lid on the scandal when he told "Outlook" magazine in 1997 that Kapil Dev allegedly offered him money to underperform in a one-day match against Pakistan in 1994.
The Indian federal probe into match-fixing, released last week, instead named him along with four other Indians -- Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia and Ajay Sharma -- of dallying with bookmakers.
Kapil was absolved of any wrong-doing, with the report citing lack of evidence.
According to the report, Prabhakar was close to bookmakers and punters during his playing days and after retirement.
There was also evidence, the report said, of Prabhakar under-performing, passing on information and introducing foreign players to Gupta and other bookmakers.
He denied the allegations.
"I am trying to clean cricket and this is my reward," he said. "I have never done anything wrong. I never introduced anybody knowing what was going on. When I found out that's when I started this whole investigation."
The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) report also named nine foreign players allegedly implicated.
They were Alec Stewart (England), Brian Lara (West Indies), Hansie Cronje (South Africa), Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda De Silva (Sri Lanka), Martin Crowe (New Zealand), Asif Iqbal and Salim Malik (Pakistan) and Mark Waugh (Australia).
Mail Cricket Editor
