Terming Vinod Kambli’s allegations that India’s 1996 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka may have been fixed as “irresponsible”, ICC President Sharad Pawar today said he would rather believe in what players like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have to say on the matter.
“I honestly feel that his allegations are irresponsible statements,” Mr. Pawar said. “I would rather believe in what Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar or Ajit Wadekar say,” he added.
“If he was an honest and a committed cricketer he should have spoken about it then. But he kept quiet, so I hold him irresponsible,” he said.
Mr. Pawar also said that he felt Kambli did not attach much importance to cricket during his playing days.
“If he (Kambli) had give importance to cricket, he could have been like Sachin Tendulkar. But consistency was always a problem with him,” Mr. Pawar told ‘Times Now’
Kambli created quite a flutter by claiming that something was “amiss” in India’s loss in the 1996 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka. Subsequently, Sports Minister Ajay Maken called for a probe into the allegations.
Senior Cricket Board official Rajiv Shukla said Kambli’s claims were not worth investigating.
