Madhavan meeting a waste of time, feels Wadekar

Onkar Singh

Former India cricket team coach Ajit Wadekar had a three-and-a-half hour meeting with the Board of Control for Cricket in India's vigilance commissioner K Madhavan at the Delhi and District Cricket Association premises on Monday.

At the end of the meeting, Wadekar told newsmen he did not know why he was summoned to Delhi by Madhavan.

"You know that I am contesting the presidentship of the Mumbai Cricket Association and coming here means a lot of time lost for canvassing. I have already explained my stand before the CBI and I felt there was no need for me to be here now," Wadekar said.

Asked why he made different statements to Prabhakar and the Central Bureau of Investigation, Wadekar refused to reply.

After arriving exactly at 10 a.m. he headed straight for the DDCA. Following a request from the media, Wadekar and Madhavan allowed themselves to be photographed together. It was the first time that Madhavan posed with someone who was being interrogated by him.

Asked what was the need to call Wadekar when he had already submitted his report, Madhavan said: "It is not my liking or disliking. I have been given a job by the BCCI and I will do whatever be the directive of the board."

Madhavan said he touched upon all aspects of match-fixing with the former Indian captain.

"The allegations of Manoj Prabhakar did figure during the recording of the statement. But we covered a large number of other aspects also. We are now in the process of re-typing the statement of Wadekar which would be signed by him," Madhavan told rediff.com.

Asked if he is satisfied with the answers given by Wadekar, Madhavan said he could not answer the question, and would put down his impressions in the supplementary report to be submitted by him by the end of the month.

"I would have to see if there is any need to call someone else after I finish talking to Wadekar and Kapil Dev. I have been in touch with Kapil on this matter. We have yet to decide the date and timing of the meeting. We would be able to decide even the venue by tomorrow morning," he said.

Would you be calling Navjot Singh Sidhu and other players, who know a bit about Prabhakar's allegations against Kapil Dev?

"It is too premature to answer this question," he replied.

Manoj Prabhakar is upset because you have put him in the same category as Ajay Jadeja...

"Well, I have given my opinion and he is entitled to hold his own opinion. After a court gives its verdict there are always different opinions on the judgement given by the courts. So, if Prabhakar feels that I have been harsh to him, he can say so. I have nothing against him," he said.

The match-fixing scandal - the complete story

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