After match fixing, a drugs scandal now hits Indian cricket

It was just the other day that AC Muthiah was speaking about the good work done in India to combat the match fixing menace. "India has been the forerunner in stalling match-fixing," said the Chennai based businessman who heads the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). "India was one of the few countries to initiate action in connection with the scandal and every cricket-playing nation has acknowledged this. The board had to face one obstacle after another and I think we came out of it well," added Muthiah at the annual day function of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, of which he is also the president.

Muthiah perhaps spoke too soon. For while the game is just about recovering from the after effects of the worst scandal to hit cricket worldwide, another controversy that has all the makings of a fresh scandal has raised its head in India. And at the moment, it does appear it is a thorny issue that will not go away soon.

The story has its genesis in the latest issue of `Outlook' magazine which in its cover story has said that some Indian players are taking performance-enhancing drugs. This follows an interview with former Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad and the names mentioned include - hold your breath - Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

Predictably enough, the allegations have already snowballed into a major controversy. Gaekwad has threatened to take the magazine to court and has received full support from BCCI secretary JY Lele. The magazine, for its part, has firmly stood by its story and has said there is no question of issuing an apology or denial.

Interestingly, `Outlook' was the first magazine to expose match fixing in a cover story they did in 1997. But in a way, this is potentially as big a controversial issue. For one thing, drugs is always a sensitive topic, especially in India. Secondly, this is Indian cricket we are talking about and we all know the hold the game and the players have upon the public in this country. And third, when Dravid and Tendulkar are two of the cricketers allegedly mentioned in the course of the interview, there are bound to be serious repercussions.

Gaekwad, a former Indian opening batsman who played 40 Tests between 1974 and 1985, has a reputation as a gentleman cricketer who publicly stands by players. Known for his equitable temperament, Gaekwad on this occasion has been positively livid. "All along I generally talked about energy replacement drinks which in any case are taken on the field in full public view. At no point did I mention the use of performance enhancing drugs," Gaekwad is quoted to have said. Certainly among all the points he is alleged to have made during the interview, the one passage which has really raised a hornet's nest is this purported statement about Tendulkar. "There has to be a level playing field. Like Sachin is definitely talented, but that extra dose of steroid helps him hit the ball with greater punch. So, if you inject Sachin with muscle-strengthening drugs, it's not fair."

Gaekwad, who was the coach during the Indian team's unsuccessful campaign in the 1999 World Cup in England, was quick to note that his quotes had been twisted out of context. "At one point in the interview, they have rightly quoted me as saying the players have become health conscious. Then, how could I also have spoken about an unhealthy practice?" he said. Gaekwad, now 48, said his lawyers were expected to file legal action against the magazine in the next few days.

Not unexpectedly, the present Indian team management in Zimbabwe has jumped to the defence of the cricketers. "I can state categorically that these players do not take drugs of any performance-enhancing type," manager Chetan Chauhan is quoted to have said. "They may take boosts like energizers and other things but these were taken even in my time," said the former Indian opening batsman who also played 40 Tests from 1969 to 1981.

The Indian team's physio, Andrew Leipus too denied the charges, but he took a slightly different view. He was of the opinion that the players did not train hard enough to benefit from performance-enhancing steroids. "The Indian team does not work hard enough in the gym to benefit from the use of steroids," Andrew Leipus is quoted to have said. Leipus, who has been with the team for two years, said that Indian cricketers do not push themselves to their genetic potential."Steroids help people in the gym enormously. If you are into heavyweight training, steroids will help you a lot. But our guys, when in the gym, don't train so hard. Their training is not really intensive," he said.

In their counter attack against the allegations, Gaekwad and the team management have received spontaneous response from the BCCI. The secretary of the BCCI Jaywant Lele, while promising Gaekwad all help in his legal action against the magazine, said "It is time someone goes to court against publishing such nonsense." Asked whether the Indian players ever used drugs, Lele said: "Everyone knows they are using cortizone injections which are not steroids, but only painkillers."

The outspoken Lele, while dismissing the charges, said the BCCI too was contemplating legal action against the "reckless reportage" on the issue. "We will take up the matter at the working committee meeting of the BCCI scheduled to be held in August. Only then we will decide what course of action should be taken against 'Outlook' for making such wild allegations. If necessary, we would even take recourse to legal action," he said. And then the board secretary came up with a typical response: "I know it is all 'bakwaas' (nonsense)," he said.

Lele however admitted that the Indian team was very upset with the report. "Certainly it would have some impact. The boys are very upset. I had a talk with the Indian team management and asked them not to worry about such baseless reports and carry on the good work. But it did have a demoralising effect," said Lele.

Interestingly enough, the ICC, in its anti-corruption report, released a couple of months ago, hinted that the use of drugs could be widespread in the game. "We've also received reports about baggage and equipment on tour being used to facilitate the movements of unlawful drugs," the ICC's anti-corruption chief Paul Condon said in his report.

So where is all this going to lead to? Not very happy times in Indian cricket, it is feared. Only one thing can be said with some certainty. With both sides firm on their viewpoint, the last has not been heard about the case. Indeed, this could only be the beginning of another painful, long winded controversy.