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Stop maligning me: Azhar

Former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin on Tuesday strongly refuted allegations made in the April 24 issue of Outlook magazine, accusing him and other senior players of being involved in match-fixing and betting. The magazine says there is taped evidence to prove that Indian team members have been involved in betting or fixing of matches at some time or the other.

Azharuddin has denied all the allegations, saying they are false and without substance.

Following is the text of a statement released by him:

'The Outlook magazine alleges that the Crime Branch tapped bookmakers' phones in Mumbai in November 1997 and recorded players' conversations during a Titan Cup match. Let me make the records correct that the Titan Cup match was in the year 1996. That means the Crime Branch allegedly recorded the conversations one year after the match. These are self-contradictory statements in itself. If the players had fixed the matches, how is it that the Titan Cup Series was won by India convincingly? And, if winning matches is an offence, then all the players are guilty.

'The Outlook magazine states that calls were made by the bookies to the Indian dressing room immediately after the toss. This statement cannot stand the test of reason because there are no phones provided in the dressing room. Furthermore, no player is permitted to carry mobiles during matches. The editor should have verified these facts before allowing his so-called reporters to run riot and publish baseless allegations.

'The next allegation is that a well-wisher gifted me with a Mercedes Benz SL 500 car. I say that a car is not a toy that one can carry in his pocket or bag and bring it to India. The editor of the magazine should know by this time that there is a government organisation called the customs department and one has to pay duty, called customs duty, when you bring an imported car to India.

'Regarding paid dinners, the only dinner I attended during the Sharjah tour was the CBFS official function dinner.

"Regarding various complaints to board authorities, Mr. Raj Singh Dungarpur, who was recently interviewed by Star channel, clearly pointed out that a number of complaints were received by him during his tenure of three years as president of the board. He said that all those complaints were thoroughly investigated and he found no iota of truth in any one of them.

"I deny all the allegations as false, untrue, baseless, and with no substance whatsoever. I say that no bookie has ever approached me or any other player, to the best of my knowledge. I am a dedicated player and the game of cricket is my love and passion. My advice to such magazines is to stop maligning me, which they have been doing for the last number of years for no reason and no base. It is high time that they stopped vitiating the atmosphere and they should not create chaos in the minds of the public.

"Let the competent authorities do their job."