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Bedi lashes out at Bindra

Onkar Singh in Delhi

Former India cricket captain and one of the finest left arm spinners the game has seen, Bishan Singh Bedi on Friday described I S Bindra's allegation against Kapil Dev as "an attempt to get cheap publicity".

Bindra, a former Board of Control for Cricket in India president, alleged in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that Manoj Prabhakar told him that the senior Indian cricketer who offered him Rs 2.5 million to play below his ability in the 1994 Singer Cup was none other than former India captain and current team coach Kapil Dev.

"Manoj has been telling this name to Indian cricketers for the last four years. Where is the proof? I wish Bindra had been more discreet about the matter rather than put the gun on Prabhakar's shoulders and fire it on Kapil," said Bedi.

"By doing what he has done, Bindra has not only brought cricket to disrepute but also the bureaucracy as well. Because cricket came to him by accident and bureaucracy is his profession," he added.

Bedi, who is known for calling a spade a spade, continued: "Where was the need to hurry up with the disclosure, as the Central Bureau of Investigation is already looking into the matter. It would have been better if Prabhakar had made this announcement rather than Bindra. So far Prabhakar has not said even a word about it officially."

Bedi questioned Bindra's decision to go to London to attend the International Cricket Conference meeting without being invited. "It is foolish of him to have done this. Since he was not allowed to attend the meeting to present his case, therefore, he took out his frustration on Kapil Dev by naming him," he said.

But does he believe that Kapil made the offer to Prabhakar?

"It is not a question of my believing. I am upset with the way the whole campaign is being carried on in India. You cannot just get up and name someone as the person who offered money. There has to be a proof. There is no need for a person like Bindra, who had been the president of the BCCI, to indulge in cheap publicity like this. How can you say something on behalf of someone else?" he questioned.

According to Bedi, Bindra, by his recent outburst - - "and that too on behalf of someone who does not have the guts to say so publicly and has been grumbling about things in private to senior cricketers" - - has not helped the cause of the game.

So, then, is Bindra desperate?

"For what? This is used in a positive manner. I think he was taking out his frustration," Bedi said.

He chided Bindra for acting irresponsibly. "As an IAS officer we would have thought that he would have behaved in a more dignified manner."

Talking about the special meeting of the ICC in London, on May 2-3, Bedi said the only achievement from it is the decision to impose a life ban on those who indulge in match-fixing.

He complimented a Delhi-based magazine for carrying out a number of cover stories on the match-fixing scandal.

"Since nobody has dared to take the magazine to court, therefore, I assume there is lot of material and depth in what they have printed. You wait and watch, a lot many names will be thrown up in due course and some of them could even startle you," he declared.

He also lauded disgraced South African captain Hansie Cronje for admitting his guilt. "He could not sleep and he called up Ali Bacher in the middle of the night to admit his guilt. Here in India, all those who take money have a sound sleep and keep snoring right through the night as if nothing had happened," he said with a typical Bedi laugh.

So, would he expect Kapil to resign as coach of the Indian team after the allegations against him?

"What can I tell him? He is not a kid. He knows what he should do. I do not want to get involved in any unsavory controversy," he concluded.

The Betting Scandal: The full story