Current Indian players' views on the recent 'spot-fixing' saga

[Sir john]

Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly on Thursday said he had never been approached by any bookie during his stint as Indian captain, even as the world cricket is rocked by 'spot-fixing' involving Pakistani cricketers. "Three former India captains -- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble -- too were never approached and such a situation was beyond their imagination," Ganguly told a TV channel. Urging the cricketers to be responsible, Ganguly said the International Cricket Council (ICC) was not a policing body and could not have a constant watch on the players. "ICC is not a police station, it has some set of laws. If those are violated, they will take action. Nothing is foolproof," the 38-year-old said. Referring to the 'spot-fixing' scam, Ganguly said "In our playing days, we could hardly believe such a thing. During my captaincy, betting issue used to figure in the discussions with Tendulkar, Dravid, Kumble and me. But nobody could dare approach us. "May be they (thebookies) judge players by their characters before making the move. I can never in my life believe that this may happen. The captain and his boys have a role to play, they must act responsibly," Ganguly said. He further said those found guilty in the spot-fixing' scandal should be "heavily punished". Without naming the accused -- Pakistan Test skipper Salman Butt and pacer duo of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer -- the left-hander said," we should wait for the outcome." "The guilty should be heavily punished. These are all allegations, there is no proof yet. We should not make comments," he said. "Not just Pakistan is involved. I hear players from Australia and Bangladesh have been approached. It boils down to the players, it's their as well as captain's responsibility. They are playing as an individual, they should take responsibility," Ganguly said. Pakistan's Test skipper Butt and pacers Asif and Aamer are facing a Scotland Yard investigation over their alleged involvement in a betting scam "exposed" by a British tabloid's sting operation.

[goose]

Ganguly does it again!

[SachDan]

Tendulkar: ICC should probe spot-fixing scandal thoroughly Tendulkar: ICC should probe 'spot-fixing' scandal thoroughly. ICC should take appropriate action if players found guilty. If allegations true, they will certainly bring disrepute to game. Never heard of an Indian player being approached by bookies. source:NDTV

[zubinpepsi]

Never heard of an Indian player being approached by bookies.

wat a load of BS.... hope he hasnt said that..

[Karan114]

wat a load of BS.... hope he hasnt said that..

Yeah I laughed at that too.

[Zap_Brannigan]

He probably meant with the newer bunch.

[saneindian]

He is right. The crooks Jadeja and Azhar used to call up the bookies and not the other way round. :--D

[Gunner_Mania]

"In my 21 year of international cricket, I have never heard of an Indian player being approached by bookies," Tendulkar asserted.

Seriously??

[The Outsider]

Quite obviously he means heard as in be aware of an approach by a bookie, while playing or on tour and not as a result of some later investigation.

[Fontaine]

Damn right. Unlike the gutter cricket in Pakistan there is no way guys like Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly and now Dhoni would allow any such nonsense to happen.

[vamos_rafa]

Damn right. Unlike the gutter cricket in Pakistan there is no way guys like Kumble' date= Dravid, Ganguly and now Dhoniwould allow any such nonsense to happen.

You missed out Sachin's name from the list??:hmmm:

[SachDan]

^ does it matter?

[vamos_rafa]

^ does it matter?

No, not at all. But that's a big name to be missing so though of it pointing it out.

[zubinpepsi]

^ u dont bring in god's name for petty things.. using his assistants name is enough..

[Ram]

Lets not get too snooty. Match-fixing probably started in the Indian team in the 90s, though our neighbors took it, studied it, got doctorates in it and perfected it. :cantstop: Ganguly is right, as long as you have honest leaders with integrity at the top, it will be difficult, not impossible, for someone to match/spot fix. Obviously, you can never stop a lone rogue element within the team to collude independently with bookies, so an example of match/spot fixing within the team is not an automatic black-mark on the captain. Which is why, it is actually more shocking that Salman Butt is involved in all of this. When you take the skipper’s position in the team, not only do you represent yourself and your team, you also represent the hopes and honor of all your countrymen. The captain must not only have a shrewd cricketing brain, but also be a statesmen. Just look at some our most recent captains – Sachin, Ganguly, Kumble, Dravid, MSD etc. Even though all of these guys are outstanding cricketers, they’re first and foremost statesmen of the game. Salman Butt not only let himself and his team down (and who cares about those guys? If they want to ruin their lives, its their wish), but they let all of the Pakistani fans down. That is 100% unpardonable.

[Tapioca]

Damn right. Unlike the gutter cricket in Pakistan there is no way guys like Kumble' date=' Dravid, Ganguly and now Dhoni would allow any such nonsense to happen.[/quote'] Yup. That India did not face any credibility problem after 2000 was because these integrity of these four (SRT, not MSD) were beyond question. The problem with Pakistan has always been that you don't know who the honest players are, if any. So even if they suspend 7 or even 14 players, some bad apples may still remain

[vamos_rafa]

Lets not get too snooty. Match-fixing probably started in the Indian team in the 90s, though our neighbors took it, studied it, got doctorates in it and perfected it. :cantstop: Ganguly is right, as long as you have honest leaders with integrity at the top, it will be difficult, not impossible, for someone to match/spot fix. Obviously, you can never stop a lone rogue element within the team to collude independently with bookies, so an example of match/spot fixing within the team is not an automatic black-mark on the captain. Which is why, it is actually more shocking that Salman Butt is involved in all of this. When you take the skipper’s position in the team, not only do you represent yourself and your team, you also represent the hopes and honor of all your countrymen. The captain must not only have a shrewd cricketing brain, but also be a statesmen. Just look at some our most recent captains – Sachin, Ganguly, Kumble, Dravid, MSD etc. Even though all of these guys are outstanding cricketers, they’re first and foremost statesmen of the game. Salman Butt not only let himself and his team down (and who cares about those guys? If they want to ruin their lives, its their wish), but they let all of the Pakistani fans down. That is 100% unpardonable.

Agreed to the statement but the players who have been banned from Internation cricket for Match-fixing namely Cronje and Azhar were skippers of their respective sides. It depends more on the individual I think. Everyone does not feel the same about captaincy. Infact I would stick my neck out and say that as a skipper you have more freedom to be involved in these kinds of things. Because you can easily influence the new members in the side. This was clearly proved by the way Cronje used to manipulate guys like Telemachus, Gibbs(who was relatively new then) and even Crookes(though an old hand). India have been extremely lucky to have got such men of honor at the helm and we should be proud of it.

[yoda]

Ganguly is right. Can you imagine a bookie trying to pay off Dravid or SRT or Kumble? He would be stupidest guy ever.

[Ram]

Agreed to the statement but the players who have been banned from Internation cricket for Match-fixing namely Cronje and Azhar were skippers of their respective sides. It depends more on the individual I think. Everyone does not feel the same about captaincy. Infact I would stick my neck out and say that as a skipper you have more freedom to be involved in these kinds of things. Because you can easily influence the new members in the side. This was clearly proved by the way Cronje used to manipulate guys like Telemachus, Gibbs(who was relatively new then) and even Crookes(though an old hand). India have been extremely lucky to have got such men of honor at the helm and we should be proud of it.

Exactly, if you’re the skipper, it makes it even more easier for match/spot fixing to happen. Which is why, you have to make sure the guys being appointed to that position are above these such activities.

[vamos_rafa]

Exactly' date= if you’re the skipper, it makes it even more easier for match/spot fixing to happen. Which is why, you have to make sure the guys being appointed to that position are above these such activities.

But i think that's not that easy. Azhar was supposed to be one of the most shy and quiet guys around and was an obvious choice for captain. Don't know much about Cronje but I was impressed by Butt's conducts when he took over. Did not seem like your typical gali ka chokra from pakistan,spoke well and seemed to be a decent kind of a guy until this happened. I think it's too person-centric because you are talking about the person's character here which you can't decide.