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Muttiah cracks the whip on mud-slingers

Rival groups in the faction-ridden Board of Control for Cricket in India were threatened with expulsion on Wednesday as members intensified mud-slinging against each other.

BCCI president A.C. Muttiah warned members from going public with wild allegations in the midst of the raging betting and match-fixing scandal that has engulfed the game.

The target of attack is former BCCI chief Inderjit Singh Bindra, who has publicly alleged corruption in awarding television rights for international matches. Bindra created a stir last month when he said on CNN that former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar had named current national coach Kapil Dev as the man who offered a bribe to play badly in a one-day international in 1994.

Bindra's opponents in the BCCI, owing allegience to International Cricket Council president Jagmohan Dalmiya, have hit back in recent days, saying he too could not be absolved of shady deals.

Muttiah, a leading industrialist, said he would not hesitate to crack the whip if the mud-slinging did not stop.

"If members are found guilty of endangering the harmony, or affecting the reputation, stability or interest of the Board, such members shall be liable for expulsion," he told reporters.

"These members without realising how it hurts the image of the Board have been continuing to go to the media to settle their personal scores.

"This sort of slander is highly reprehensible and has to be put an end to," Muthiah said.

Muttiah, a close associate of Dalmiya, also took a swipe as Bindra, saying he had accused a senior cricketer like Kapil of match-fixing without giving any proof.

Bindra had also not substantiated his allegations that one-day matches in off-shore venues like Sharjah and Toronto were fixed, Muttiah added.

"I am taken aback by the baseless allegations and denials which a person of the stature of Mr Bindra has been freely trading," the BCCI chief said.

Muttiah urged members to keep silent till the Central Bureau of Invesigation completes it's probe into corruption in Indian cricket.

Bindra has given the CBI a 400-page document which he says will help the investigators in booking the culprits.

The BCCI last week put out advertisements in newspapers asking officials, players, journalists and fans to cooperate with the CBI and provide any evidence of wrongdoing.

The BCCI is scheduled to hold emergency meetings in New Delhi on Friday and Saturday to debate the match-fixing scandal and allegations of corruption against some officials.