Meiyappan must bear brunt of law, says Sunil Gavaskar

Mangalore Today News Network

Melbourne, November 19, 2014:  Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has hit out hard against the son-in-law of ICC chairman N. Srinivasan.

 

Speaking exclusively to the India Today Group in Melbourne, Gavaskar said: "The full force of the law must come down on Meiyappan."

Gavaskar also said Srinivasan needs to explain why he did not act against players if he knew they were involved in fixing.

"There are reports which say the Mudgal committee report has found that Srinivasan knew about betting but did not do anything about it. Srinivasan should answer for why he did not act if he knew that a player was guilty," Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar was in Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend a special reception at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, hosted by Australian PM Tony Abbott. Several Indian and Australian cricketing legends like Kapil Dev, V.V.S. Laxman, Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Allan Border also attended the reception on Tuesday evening.

Gavaskar said there should be zero tolerance against match-fixing and betting and if any player is found guilty of having participated in wrong acts, he should be jailed and his entire cricketing history deleted from the record books.

"New Zealand has come up with a new law on betting which says that guilty players will be jailed. India should have the same law," he said.

Gavaskar also suggested that the government should think about legalising betting in India.

"A lot of betting happens through black money. But if you open official betting shops, the government will be able to increase its revenues. It’s like prohibition - if someone wants to bet illegally, they will. Government should think about legalising betting," he said.

The cricket legend sought to draw a distinction between team owners who were indicted for betting and players, saying players should not be punished till the time it can be established that the owner of the team didn’t influence the player.

Speaking about India’s forthcoming tour of Australia, Gavaskar felt the team would face a very tough time. "Indian players will need to be patient. They will need to keep extravagant shots in their pockets when they play in Australia. This is not T20 or One-Day Internationals. Australian pitches are the best to bat on but the players have to be patient."

Courtesy: Indianews