The Condon report and Indian cricket

Not unexpectedly, Indian cricket figures prominently in the Condon report - both in the plus column and the minus column. There are references to the "robust action" that the CBI and the BCCI, through its anti-corruption commissioner K Madhavan took to curb match fixing. And of course to balance the picture, the report also says that "in many ways the Indian betting industry has been the engine room which has powered and driven cricket corruption."But he concludes that "the blame for the spread of cricket corruption is a shared responsibility and must not be unfairly laid upon the Indian sub-continent."

There is no doubt that the Indian authorities took some positive steps that the boards of other countries were reluctant to take and predictably enough, BCCI president AC Muthiah, who received plaudits for taking the hard decisions like imposing the life ban on former Indian captain Md Azharuddin, has said that the game should recognise and praise India for leading the way in ridding the sport of corruption.

"We were the ones who first initiated inquiries into corruption and then banned cricketers who were found guilty of match-fixing," Muthiah told a news agency from Lahore where he is attending the Asian Cricket Council meeting.

Muthiah in turn had a word of praise for the Condon report. "I can't comment till I have studied it. But I have reasons to be believe that it has been prepared in the right and professional way."

Referring to the bans on Md Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Ajay Sharma and Manoj Prabhakar, Muthiah said "We showed the world that it was the game which was held in the highest esteem by the administrators (in India) and not the men playing it. We have and will support all our cricketers, but we have no sympathy for those who indulge in malpractice and sideline the interest of the game and the country for their personal gains," he added.

However Muthiah is aware that there is still much to be done to keep the sport clean. "We have succeeded in eliminating match-fixing. But it is betting which we have to control, it is very organised." But he concluded on an optimistic note. "We could see the revival of cricket in India during the recently concluded series against Australia. The crowd turnout was tremendous and there was support for the home team right through," the BCCI chief said.

A good deal of Condon's lengthy report deals with Indian cricket and he makes special mention of his various trips to India to meet Board officials, CBI investigators and Government ministers. He notes his `critical' meeting in London with the head of the CBI investigation saying "we established a very productive working relationship."

Condon says that after the CBI published their report in November last year, "two members of my unit worked in India immediately after the publication of the report. We were made aware that although the CBI had carried out a thorough and professional investigation into the allegations against the Indian players, it was not within their jurisdiction to follow up the allegations against the non Indian players. In my discussions with them, the CBI justified the reasons for naming and implicating the overseas players on two grounds. First, as they were in possession of the allegations they could have been vulnerable to accusations of negligence or cover up if they had not made them public. Secondly and more controversially the CBI felt that their principal witness MK Gupta, a bookmaker, had not been disproved in respect of any allegations he had made and they did not think he was lying."

Condon goes on to say that his unit then took on a coordinating role, in relation to the allegations about non Indian players in the CBI report. "Australia, New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka quickly announced investigations into the allegations made against their players," he points out. This certainly was a feather in India's cap.

Condon adds that in December last year, he led a delegation of Special Investigators from Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka to India. "We held meetings with the Minister for Sport and the Law Minister, the CBI, Delhi Police, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and their Special Investigator. As a result of the CBI report and the report of their Special Investigator, Mr Madhavan, the Board of Control for Cricket in India took robust action against a number of people." He adds "the investigations into the allegations against the non Indian players named in the CBI report are ongoing and the Anti Corruption Unit will continue to support these investigations."

Condon says the allegations against the non Indian players named in the CBI report "emanated principally from MK Gupta. He was seen by members of my unit in Delhi in November 2000 and again in March 2001. Negotiations continue to establish whether Gupta is prepared to give evidence in person to support the investigations underway in a number of countries."

Trying to establish as to how and when betting and match fixing could have started in India, Condon says that in his discussions with colleagues in the CBI and with Indian Ministers they acknowledged the growth of unlawful betting on cricket in India and saw the resumption of international matches against Pakistan in 1978 as being a key stimulant for raising interest in betting on cricket.

Delving deeper into the scandal, Condon admits that the spectre of a more sinister regime of fear and coercion has been raised to explain some aspects of cricket corruption. "The CBI has an investigation underway into the links between organised crime and cricket. My unit has met people who have made allegations about threats to their life as a result of exposing cricket corruption and I have met a number of people who were, in my opinion, genuinely frightened of the consequences if it became known they were cooperating with the Anti-Corruption Unit."

Condon deals with inquiries into the scandal and the Chandrachund Inquiry, instituted by the BCCI in 1997, finds a mention. Condon notes that in November of the same year, Justice Chandrachud concluded his investigation. "Whilst he accepted that large scale betting occurred in India he was unwilling to accept, upon the information provided to him, that there was proof that any Indian player, official or journalist had ever involved themselves in such a form of activity. This internal inquiry was not to become public for some two and a half years," he says.

Condon admits that the challenge to combat cricket corruption is a world wide challenge. "The CBI and the Indian Government have courageously acknowledged the role which the unlawful betting industry in India has played. In many ways the Indian betting industry has been the engine room which has powered and driven cricket corruption. The work of my unit has shown that it would be wrong to leave the analysis at this statement for we are or will be carrying out investigations which embrace most of the full member countries of the ICC. The blame for the spread of cricket corruption is a shared responsibility and must not be unfairly laid upon the Indian sub-continent," he says.

Condon also has a word of praise for the New Delhi Police. He notes that in April 2000, "whilst investigating an unrelated matter, New Delhi Police were monitoring the telephone calls of an Indian national. They overheard a telephone conversation in which Hansie Cronjé was mentioned, and subsequently listened to him discussing match fixing. The New Delhi Police launched an investigation centred on the association between Cronjé (and South African players), London based businessman Sanjay Chawla and two Indian bookmakers. In May 2000 the New Delhi Police charged Cronjé, Strydom, Gibbs and Bojé, in their absence, with cheating, fraud and criminal conspiracy." Yet another example of swift action by Indian authorities.

Pointing out the steps taken by the Indian authorities to tackle the menace, Condon says that following the investigation by the New Delhi Police, which revealed that Cronjé had taken money from Indian bookmakers, the Indian government asked the CBI to instigate an inquiry. "Unlike previous inquiries, the CBI (whose investigations commenced in May 2000) actively sought out evidence, in contrast to hearing witnesses in a formal enquiry."

Condon says the investigation found that MK Gupta had become involved in illegal betting in the 1980's and in 1988 paid Ajay Sharma 2,000 rupees, having watched him play, as a token of his appreciation. "Subsequently through Sharma, and later Manoj Prabhakar, Gupta alleged that he met many Indian and foreign international players. He gave evidence of large-scale corruption involving, amongst others, Azharuddin and Cronjé. He also named several non Indian players and alleged that they had been involved in cricket malpractice. The CBI did not have the jurisdiction to investigate the non-Indian players and although they named them in their report they did not carry out any investigation into these allegations. Gupta, who was one of many bookmakers and gamblers interviewed by the CBI, was the only one to admit to corrupting cricket players of various countries. Also known as MK or John, Gupta alleged he had paid players significant amounts of money for under-performing and match information."

Condon notes that after collecting evidence from players, officials, bookmakers, gamblers and others, the CBI commented that "At the very outset the cricketing fraternity, generally speaking, maintained a 'conspiracy of silence' and were rarely forthcoming with any specific information relevant to the enquiry. Not a single player/ex-player/official etc., other than those who had made vague and general allegations in the media, volunteered any information to the CBI".

The CBI report, Condon says, concluded that whilst small scale betting on cricket matches had been taking place in India for a long time, the advent of live television broadcasts led to an upswing in large scale betting. This coincided with India's victory in the 1983 World Cup. The CBI linked the current sophisticated nature and monetary scale of betting in India to organised crime with clear signals of 'Mafia' underworld involvement.

So, in the final analysis, one can only agree with Muthiah that while steps have been taken to curb the menace, much more needs to be done in the matter. After all, even Condon has said that the knowledge of cricket corruption could well be only the tip of the iceberg.