Some players have Rs. 200-cr. assets: Dhindsa

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, JULY 8. Without naming anybody, the Union Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Mines, Mr. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, said today that many people had informed him that while the assets of some senior players of the Indian cricket team were worth Rs. 200 crores, junior players could have assets worth Rs. 10 crores.

Speaking at ``Meet the Press'' programme at the Chandigarh Press Club, Mr. Dhindsa said he had no personal information to support or negate the charges being made against the cricketers. He would wait for the reports of the CBI and clarifications from the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI), before initiating any further action.

For technical and legal reasons, it was not possible to conduct public investigations into match-fixing as was being done by the King's Commission in South Africa. The Minister denied the charge that he had tried to fix the BCCI, which was an autonomous body. Even in the match-fixing case, the Government was forced to intervene and order a CBI probe as the entire country got involved in the controversy.

Mr. Dhindsa said he had sought a status report from the BCCI regarding the existence of any code of conduct for the players. In case there was no such code, the Board would be directed to frame one at the earliest. The BCCI had also been asked to give the details of funds spent by it to groom future players. He would be in a position to give a reply after July 26, when the three months' period sought by the BCCI would expire. So far, he had received no communication on the issue. The Government could take a lenient view of those who volunteered information on the scandal but nobody had come forth so far. Those found guilty of match-fixing would definitely be punished.

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