After match fixing, a drugs scandal now hits Indian cricket
It was just the other day that AC Muthiah was speaking about the good work done in India to combat the match fixing menace
Partab Ramchand
05-Jul-2001
It was just the other day that AC Muthiah was speaking about the good
work done in India to combat the match fixing menace. "India has been
the forerunner in stalling match-fixing," said the Chennai based
businessman who heads the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI). "India was one of the few countries to initiate action in
connection with the scandal and every cricket-playing nation has
acknowledged this. The board had to face one obstacle after another
and I think we came out of it well," added Muthiah at the annual day
function of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, of which he is also
the president.
Muthiah perhaps spoke too soon. For while the game is just about
recovering from the after effects of the worst scandal to hit cricket
worldwide, another controversy that has all the makings of a fresh
scandal has raised its head in India. And at the moment, it does
appear it is a thorny issue that will not go away soon.
The story has its genesis in the latest issue of `Outlook' magazine
which in its cover story has said that some Indian players are taking
performance-enhancing drugs. This follows an interview with former
Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad and the names mentioned include - hold
your breath - Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Predictably enough, the allegations have already snowballed into a
major controversy. Gaekwad has threatened to take the magazine to
court and has received full support from BCCI secretary JY Lele. The
magazine, for its part, has firmly stood by its story and has said
there is no question of issuing an apology or denial.
Interestingly, `Outlook' was the first magazine to expose match fixing
in a cover story they did in 1997. But in a way, this is potentially
as big a controversial issue. For one thing, drugs is always a
sensitive topic, especially in India. Secondly, this is Indian cricket
we are talking about and we all know the hold the game and the players
have upon the public in this country. And third, when Dravid and
Tendulkar are two of the cricketers allegedly mentioned in the course
of the interview, there are bound to be serious repercussions.
Gaekwad, a former Indian opening batsman who played 40 Tests between
1974 and 1985, has a reputation as a gentleman cricketer who publicly
stands by players. Known for his equitable temperament, Gaekwad on
this occasion has been positively livid. "All along I generally
talked about energy replacement drinks which in any case are taken on
the field in full public view. At no point did I mention the use of
performance enhancing drugs," Gaekwad is quoted to have said.
Certainly among all the points he is alleged to have made during the
interview, the one passage which has really raised a hornet's nest is
this purported statement about Tendulkar. "There has to be a level
playing field. Like Sachin is definitely talented, but that extra dose
of steroid helps him hit the ball with greater punch. So, if you
inject Sachin with muscle-strengthening drugs, it's not fair."
Gaekwad, who was the coach during the Indian team's unsuccessful
campaign in the 1999 World Cup in England, was quick to note that his
quotes had been twisted out of context. "At one point in the
interview, they have rightly quoted me as saying the players have
become health conscious. Then, how could I also have spoken about an
unhealthy practice?" he said. Gaekwad, now 48, said his lawyers were
expected to file legal action against the magazine in the next few
days.
Not unexpectedly, the present Indian team management in Zimbabwe has
jumped to the defence of the cricketers. "I can state categorically
that these players do not take drugs of any performance-enhancing
type," manager Chetan Chauhan is quoted to have said. "They may take
boosts like energizers and other things but these were taken even in
my time," said the former Indian opening batsman who also played 40
Tests from 1969 to 1981.
The Indian team's physio, Andrew Leipus too denied the charges, but he
took a slightly different view. He was of the opinion that the players
did not train hard enough to benefit from performance-enhancing
steroids. "The Indian team does not work hard enough in the gym to
benefit from the use of steroids," Andrew Leipus is quoted to have
said. Leipus, who has been with the team for two years, said that
Indian cricketers do not push themselves to their genetic
potential."Steroids help people in the gym enormously. If you are
into heavyweight training, steroids will help you a lot. But our guys,
when in the gym, don't train so hard. Their training is not really
intensive," he said.
In their counter attack against the allegations, Gaekwad and the team
management have received spontaneous response from the BCCI. The
secretary of the BCCI Jaywant Lele, while promising Gaekwad all help
in his legal action against the magazine, said "It is time someone
goes to court against publishing such nonsense." Asked whether the
Indian players ever used drugs, Lele said: "Everyone knows they are
using cortizone injections which are not steroids, but only painkillers."
The outspoken Lele, while dismissing the charges, said the BCCI too
was contemplating legal action against the "reckless reportage" on the
issue. "We will take up the matter at the working committee meeting of
the BCCI scheduled to be held in August. Only then we will decide what
course of action should be taken against 'Outlook' for making such
wild allegations. If necessary, we would even take recourse to legal
action," he said. And then the board secretary came up with a typical
response: "I know it is all 'bakwaas' (nonsense)," he said.
Lele however admitted that the Indian team was very upset with the
report. "Certainly it would have some impact. The boys are very upset.
I had a talk with the Indian team management and asked them not to
worry about such baseless reports and carry on the good work. But it
did have a demoralising effect," said Lele.
Interestingly enough, the ICC, in its anti-corruption report, released
a couple of months ago, hinted that the use of drugs could be
widespread in the game. "We've also received reports about baggage
and equipment on tour being used to facilitate the movements of
unlawful drugs," the ICC's anti-corruption chief Paul Condon said in
his report.
So where is all this going to lead to? Not very happy times in Indian
cricket, it is feared. Only one thing can be said with some certainty.
With both sides firm on their viewpoint, the last has not been heard
about the case. Indeed, this could only be the beginning of another
painful, long winded controversy.