Former manager alleges Dhoni fixed 2014 Manchester Test; Mudgal not convinced
THE MATCH-FIXING ALLEGATIONS continues to torment world and Indian cricket. Current Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary and former Indian team manager Sunil Dev has now accused India’s limited overs skipper MS Dhoni of fixing the 2014 Manchester Test in England.
Dev, who was the team manager during the Test series has claimed that he was a "100 percent sure" that Dhoni fixed the fourth Test in Old Trafford. The former manager was heard making these revelations in a sting operation conducted by a Hindi daily newspaper.
Dev said that despite the overcast conditions, which were favorable to the seamers, Dhoni surprisingly decided to bat first. Dev further added that before the toss, the management had agreed to bowl and Dhoni for no apparent reason changed his mind in the end.
As reported by TOI, the former manager said,
"Given the conditions of the pitch due to rain, we have decided to bowl first in a team meeting but I was surprised that Dhoni opted to bat first.”
In the end, India lost the Manchester Test by an innings and 54 runs.
If reports are to be believed, Dev remained quiet till now because he has been fearing for his life and people’s reluctance to believe the truth.
However, TOI report further added that Dev had launched a formal complaint on the matter by writing an email to former BCCI Chief N. Srinivasan in his own office, fearing a leak. Despite his efforts, the Indian cricket board kept quiet on the issue and didn't take up the matter forward.
That said, Justice Mukul Mudgal who headed the IPL spot-fixing committee has rubbished Dev’s claims by saying he has no knowledge about the entire fixing episode.
Justice Mudgal’s further added,
"You can have the evidence on tape that too after tapping the phone and BCCI's anti-corruption unit is not authorize to do it, only police can do phone tapping. Match-fixing is not as common as it has been highlighted and unless there are 2-3 big players is involved, it can't be done."
Justice Mudgal also reminded everyone about how India chose to bat upon winning the toss on seamer-friendly conditions at Leeds. Mudgal also added that as far as the conditions go, both Leeds and Manchester are almost similar.
At the moment, allegations and accusations are flying thick and fast and once can be rest assured that there is plenty more to the story. Going ahead, it will be interesting to see how the BCCI and the concerned authorities respond to this match fixing saga.
Given below is the video of the sting operation
