Minister for probe

Our Kolkata Correspondent The sports minister of India Ajay Maken has aired clearly that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should come up to probe the matter in connection with the explosive comment of Vinod Kambli who said that the World Cup semifinal between India and Sri Lanka was rigged. Maken has also ensured that the government will take the responsibility to investigate the issue if BCCI fails. However, people, including media, are divided over the issue. A section blames Kambli saying, "What was he doing for last 15 years? If he is sure of his comment, he should place the evidence". On the other hand, the counterpart defending Kambli says, "True, he (Kambli) takes time. But that does not mean the allegation is baseless. The world has seen a bunch of scams much later of the original shows - even the scams related to Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar." The war for and against Kambli includes media and legal professionals too. The big punch comes from Kalyan Mitra, a noted cricketer of yesteryear as well as the pitch curator of 1996 World Cup semifinal at Eden Gardens. "None else but Jagmohan Dalmiya is the main culprit of the entire episode. One should remember he was holding the status of the president of ICC at that time", Mitra said. However, like other anti-Kambli people, Dalmiya also demands evidence. "Otherwise, Kambli's claim is baseless", he said. A source, though unconfirmed, informed this correspondent that a meeting of a four-member team comprising Dalmiya, Azharuddin, match referee Clive Lloyd and Lankan skipper Arjun Ranatunga was held before the tie got underway. But Dalmiya denied the allegation.