Nanavati submits report
Mumbai (PTI): The Board-appointed Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati on Tuesday submitted a 14-page report on the slapping row involving Harbhajan Singh and his India teammate S Sreesanth to the BCCI which will decide the fate of the temparamental spinner in the next few days.
BCCI President Sharad Pawar will decide tomorrow the date of the Disciplinary Committee meeting which will go through Nanavati's report and decide the quantum of punishment for the player who has already been banned from the ongoing IPL.
"The 15 days' deadline given to Mr Nanavati to submit his report is over and he has given the report. It will now be given to the Disciplinary Committee. They will take a decision," BCCI's Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said after accepting the sealed envelope containing the report from Nanavati at the Board office.
"We may decide tomorrow when the committee is to meet as Mr Pawar is in town," he added.
Pawar heads the committee which has President-elect Shashank Manohar and Vice-President Chirayu Amin as the two other members.
Shetty, however, refused to comment on the possible action that can be taken against Harbhajan by the three-member Disciplinary Committee based on the Nanavati probe report.
"It's not proper for me to comment on it. It's up to the Disciplinary Committee to decide (on the issue)," he said.
Nanavati arrived from Ahmedabad to hand over the 14-page
report to Shetty and said that his task was over and it was up to the Disciplinary Committee to act.
"I said before that I was shocked (after seeing the video clip of the incident) but it made my task easy. That task has now been completed," Nanavati said.
"All the statements received have been recorded (in the report). It's up to the Disciplinary Committee to decide what to do next", the lawyer added.
There was widespread speculation that the temperamental spinner could be banned for 5 Tests or 10 ODIs or for a period of one year. It was also speculated that he could be downgraded from Category B to C in the players' contract.
"I have come to submit my report to the BCCI. Whatever conclusion I intended to reach I have reached. It's for the BCCI to take appropriate action,"Nanavati said on his arrival.
Harbhajan slapped his national teammate Sreesanth at the conclusion of King's XI Punjab's Indian Premier League match against Mumbai Indians in Mohali on April 25.
Harbhajan, who was bought by Mukesh Ambani's franchise for a whopping Rs 3.40 crore during the landmark auction, was subsequently banned from the remainder of the IPL, apart from losing nearly Rs 3 crore of match fee.
Sreesanth, who was at the receiving end of Harbhajan's wrath, was also warned against aggressive on-field behaviour and told that his conduct would be taken seriously.
Mumbai Indians manager Lalchand Rajput was fined 50 per cent of the match fee for not stopping the off-spinner's attack on Sreesanth playing for Kings XI Punjab.
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