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'It is Kapil Dev!'

Onkar Singh with the Rediff Team

Manoj Prabhakar finally showed up for his own party.

Put differently, he finally ended months of speculation, and named the 'former Indian captain' who, he had earlier alleged, offered him Rs 2.5 million for playing below par in a particular fixture in Sri Lanka.

Soon after deposing before the CBI, Prabhakar addressed the media at the New Delhi office of the website www.tehelka.com and for the first time, cut out the coy act and went public with the name he has been refusing to give all along.

Here are excerpts, from the interview he gave the website, the gist of which he repeated to the assembled media:

Who offered you Rs 25 lakh to underachieve against Pakistan in the Singer Cup?

The name I am going to take is not a small name. But if I don't take it now it will be too late. I know, he knows and God knows. It is Kapil Dev.

Are you aware of what you are saying?

I am very much aware, very much conscious, of what I am saying.

Are you prepared to take a lie detector test?

I am ready for a lie detector test any time.

Are you not afraid to take Kapil Dev's name?

A man is afraid only when he has lied. And cries only when he has made a mistake. I have neither lied nor made a mistake.

So what actually happened?

It was an evening. I had done well against Australia in the previous match. I had taken 3 or 4 wickets, scored 35 runs and effected 2 run outs. Maybe to fix the match, you need a key person. In 1994, there was no better performer than me. And 'they' needed me.

But wasn't the match rained off?

Had the match been played there would have been proof that it was a fixed game.

Did you go to the captain and the cricket manager?

I went to Wadekar and he said, forget it. You are too good a player. Think about performing well in the next match (the final).

Was Wadekar surprised at what you told him?

I was surprised that he was not surprised. And I realised. I do not know what happened or what they did afterwards, but they only denied that I went to them.

What did Azhar say?

Azhar asked me did you tell 'Sir' (Sir ko bataya kya). I told him that I had.

Did you tell anyone else?

In the next match, as I entered the ground there was a wall, on which two Indian TV commentators were sitting - Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri. I told them as well. Sunnybhai told me that this is a big game for you (the final). Concentrate on the game. I do not know if they will remember, but I don't think this can be forgotten easily.

Is there no emotion in your heart about taking Kapil Dev's name?

I have no hesitation. I was waiting for him to come forward and confess. But things have reached such a stage that you can't think about it (emotion). He cannot hide that. It happened in 1994 and it is high time now (for Kapil to confess). People have asked me why I was silent and where I was all these years. No one came to ask me. Why should I go to anyone?

How about the Chandrachud commission, didn't they ask you then?

Everyone knows that the Board inquiry was false. I told them to watch a recording of the matches but they never bothered. You can see and judge for yourself that something fishy was on.

What do you have to tell Kapil Dev now?

I will only say that he should confess to the truth. You can't undo things that have happened, but you can clear the future. I am ready to take a lie detector test anywhere, anytime. He should come in front of me. If I am wrong, he should prove that I am lying. I cannot dream of this incident. When I open my eyes I realise it may have been a bad time for me, and for that guy also.

Take us through the incident, what actually happened?

I was shaving. My roommate, Navjot Singh Sidhu, said Kapil Dev had come to speak to me with an offer. I thought that he was offering me a sticker for my bat (endorsement money). I did not know what the offer was for. When I heard that it was for losing a game against Pakistan, I just shouted.

What did you say?

I said something like, When you sell India against Pakistan you are a traitor'. I told him that I am not ready to do that. He heard that and left.

Who else knew about it?

Sidhu knew and in the next room, separated only by a door, Nayan Mongia and Prashant Vaidya heard me shouting and came to see what was happening. And then they learnt the truth."

In the Karan Thapar interview Kapil Dev was asked to put his hand on his heart and say he had not done anything wrong and did not do so. Can you do the same?

He knew he was lying, which is why he did not put his hand on his heart when Thapar asked him to. Kapil Dev, God and I know the truth. No one else can prove the truth. I can't ask Him to come down and testify."

Postscript: Kapil Dev refused comment on Prabhakar's public naming of him, and contented himself with saying that his lawyers would respond soon.

EARLIER REPORT
'Only guilty people cry', says Prabhakar

The Betting Scandal: The full story