œND‰†KœND‰†œND‰†MœND‰†C 18 SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA New Delhi, November 2, 2003 SPORT pril 7, 2000. It was a pleasant Fri- spiracy; but even it suddenly lost inter- day morning. The cold fingers of est after a few days of excitement. Awinter were already losing their Everybody had reached (or was forced frosty and biting sting. We were in the to reach?) a dead end. process of putting to bed our new baby When innocence was fixed to die A few months later, Cronje died in a (CricketTalk), and looking forward to mysterious plane crash: the betting the long weekend. There was bon- the Delhi cops. We jumped at them: Mark Waugh, a couple of years ago, and match-fixing episode was eventu- homie in the tiny newsroom. “But that is not Hansie,” we pointed BETWEEN THE LINES looked sinister now. As expected, the ally buried as a horrible nightmare, Suddenly, the editor stormed in, out triumphantly. It wasn’t. But then, police and various cricket boards along with his unidentified remains. screaming at the top of his voice: stop they were merely reading out tran- Bobbilli Vijay Kumar couldn’t gather any evidence. At least six cricketers in India, proba- press, stop press. “Hansie has been scripts from the taped conversation There was probably only one way to bly, see his ashen face when they look caught for fixing matches,” he an- that he had had with some bookies. before the story broke), on the morning A few names surfaced as investiga- catch the betrayers: check their in- into the mirror even now. nounced breathlessly.We looked at him We stopped working: our weekend of the final against Pakistan. “I love tions raged. Masks were ripped out of comes. Unfortunately, they all got so One of them ranted at a press con- incredulously, then burst out laughing was destroyed. The entire edifice of the shopping,” he said. “And I like to live it innocent faces: they revealed some much time that they could have very ference, cried during an interview and and continued with our work. holy cricket structure crumbled along up,” he added. I was supposed to do a very well-known ones and some loved easily dispersed off the loot, or at least cleaned his own image very smartly; “I am serious,” he declared again. with it. soft story, on Hansie the person, not ones, from virtually every country.The transferred it away to safer havens. another player took the quieter route Nobody believed him. Despite all the My mind slowly raced to my last trip Hansie the great leader or motivator. bookies, the dons or whoever else was Some took advantage of the govern- back on to the social circuit; a third one whispers on the circuit. And all the to Sharjah. Images of Hansie Cronje In retrospect, one can now see the running the racket, had chosen their ment’s voluntary disclosure of income is now on the threshold of returning to strange things that we saw on the field flashed in front of my eyes; one picture shiftiness in his eyes; there was a dan- targets very, very carefully: players scheme and escaped. Even if it wasn’t innocence and freedom. during recent cricket matches. keeps coming back even today: Cronje gerous restlessness in his body lan- with immaculate reputations, men meant for them. The other three might be waiting for “Switch on the television and see and his wife with huge shopping bags. guage too. Nobody suspected it would with ‘great integrity’ and stars with As time rolled, the cricket boards their turn. yourself,” he barked. He sounded seri- I saw the same scene the next day, and turn out to be so dangerous. A few days bundles of talent. Almost all of them probably realised the enormity of the God alone knows how many more ous, and seemed to be in a state of the next day too. later, after the initial denials, he con- were beyond trust now. crime and its possible repercussions: were actually involved? And who else shock. Somebody punched the buttons For one naughty moment, I thought fessed to a few terrible mistakes. For a few months, as the clouds of each one of them conducted inquiries was part of that diabolical conspiracy on the remote and the great heist fil- that was a lot of shopping during a big The world was flabbergasted: crick- cynicism hung over the horizon, al- and announced their verdicts: Not against the game? We gullible fans are tered into our sensibilities. tournament. et’s most professional and eager team most everybody was branded a traitor. guilty,not guilty,not guilty. condemned to forget the follies of all A few moments later, one channel I still remember my interview with had been caught with its hand in the Even the seemingly innocuous parting Many expected the King’s Commis- our heroes and to worship them like started playing the tape recorded by him (probably the last by a journalist money box. of information by Shane Warne and sion in South Africa to unravel the con- blind fools. Jadeja is back with his ebullient smile HOW THE STORY UNFOLDED By Dinesh Chopra this season. Youngsters can learn so much just by ob- They were the biggest names in the world of Indian cricket. They were dragged into the match-fixing scandal. Investigations jay Jadeja can beat serving him.” Coach Madan and courts could, however,not find any evidence against them. As Ajay Jadeja gets the opportunity to come back into the main- any number of air- Lal agrees. “We all know his Ahostesses hands down. cricketing acumen. His mere stream, Shashank Shekhar looks at the course their lives took since the scandal broke Whatever happens the guy presence in the line-up give just keeps smiling. You just us a headstart over our ri- KAPIL DEV: LARGER One-day specialist while also knocking at the Test Test and a few One-dayers for India during which he can’t make out what mood vals. He’s been out of the doors. The glamourous and adored batsman soon be- got close to Md Azharuddin. The friendship was much he’s in as he seems a ready- game for three years but he’s THAN LIFE, AGAIN made Smiley. Maybe, some- came much-reviled and the target of innuendoes of all dissected in the wake of the fixing opus. Sharma, abreast with whatever has hen Delhi Police named the then South hues. His burgeoning career was snapped after the along with him chum, was banned for life. one should try and whisper, gone on in that period which “World is coming to an end in African skipper Hansie Cronje in the match- board banned him for five-years. Jadeja’s immediate But before the board indictment, Sharma was ban- is quite remarkable consid- fixing scam on April 7, 2000, cricket fans reaction:‘‘There is nothing for me to look forward to in ished by Delhi midway through the 1999-00 season. another hour” to see if the ering that it is difficult to W smile vanishes. keep the motivation going.” hardly expected Kapil Dev’s name to be dragged cricket. I’m affected the most by the ban and I don’t Sharma turned to Himachal, played a game for them Even on Friday, while Sounds good but wait. into the sordid saga. The nation was shocked when want to play for this board.’’ in the next season, before the curtain came down. training at the Delhi Ranji There are others in the former BCCI chief IS Bindra told CNN on May 4, However, Jadeja knew he couldn’t live without The whole episode took a toll on his regular em- Trophy camp, Jadeja was hit team who feel his presence 2000, that Manoj Prabhakar had told him that Kapil cricket and he left Haryana to join the Jammu & Kash- ployment in the English league too when Ribblesdale on the head by an Amit Bhan- in the team is already serv- Dev had offered him money to underachieve in a mir Ranji team and even played a match for them in League club Padiham withdrew their new contract to dari bouncer. But the smile ing as a deterrent. “He’s was still there. “It’s just one of match against Pakistan in 1994. To make matters the 2000-01 season, ironically against Haryana.While Padiham as they didn’t want to have a professional robbed a promising young- worse, Kapil was the coach of the Indian team at he did score a century in that match, it was his last “who had been banned by his those things. I’ve been hit ster of his place in the team. badly in the past,” he told the time. before being banned. country.’’ Sharma, who Quite a few players feel What followed was the inevitable public trials, Jadeja was soon petitioning Delhi High has the third highest TNN. Sure enough there are cheated by that. It isn’t his scars on that body and soul fault but this reaction is nat- unrelenting media scrutiny, income tax raids, CBI Court in an effort to salvage his career. all-time first class which can freshen up any- ural. Then, examination, legal wranglings, tears on TV and a And the court did give him a ray of batting average time. “Noth- his manner- shattered image. A cornered Kapil declared in Au- light by overturning the ban in (for those hit- ing, I’m not Jadeja’s return isms, his gust 2000: ‘‘I’m through with cricket.’’ He relin- January 2003, saying there was ting 10,000 settling any moves sug- quished the coaching job the next month.