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The Rediff Interview /Aushim Khetrapal

'Why should I offer this kind of money to two players for throwing away a match when there are 11 people in the side?'

Sports promoter Aushim Khetrapal is planning to file a libel suit, asking for a million pounds in damages, against former England player Chris Lewis in the Delhi high court next week. Lewis had alleged that Khetrapal offered him 300,000 pounds to persuade some English players to throw a Test against New Zealand in August.

Khetrapal has denied the allegation. He says Lewis was retained by his company to coordinate a benefit match he was organising for M P Pandove -- secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association -- with the English team.

"We have nothing to hide. Chris Lewis is telling lies. The New Zealand captain has already said he never had any complaint against me on any count," an agitated Khetrapal declared in a conversation with Onkar Singh.

Chris Lewis has levelled charges of match-fixing against you. What do you have to say about it?

What Chris Lewis is saying has no truth in it whatsoever. I had met Lewis for just five or ten minutes in London sometime back. I was introduced to him by one of my friends in London, Mr Patel. He told me Lewis was a friend of his and a neighbour.

In the talk I had with Lewis, in front of six witnesses, I told him I had come there to organise a match for Mr Pandove and we would like to retain him as coordinator for a fee of 70,000 pounds, if he could talk to the players and make a list of who could come and play a benefit match in Mohali. At no point of time did I talk to him about anything else.

Why is Lewis leveling charges of match-fixing against you? Did you offer 300,000 pounds to ask some England players to throw away a match against New Zealand?

This is absolutely rubbish. Why should I offer this kind of money to two players for throwing away a match when there are 11 people in the side? Lewis has been in and out of the English team and desperately wants to catch the attention of the selectors. He knows the best way he can be in the news is to hit out at some celebrity. He probably chose me as a target and thought he could get away with it. But I am not going to let him get away.

First he says I offered 300,000 pounds and then he raises the figure to one million pounds. One million pounds means Rs 7 crore. If I had that kind of money I would be able to organise a tournament on my own. The Hero Honda tournament was organised for less then Rs 5 crore.

When are you filing the suit against him?

I have discussed the matter with my advocate Anees Suharwady and we will be filing the suit against Lewis in the Delhi high court. I plan to file a one million pound suit against him.

But International Cricket Council chairman Jagmohan Dalmiya has gone on record as saying that the ICC has received complaints both from thhe English and Wales Cricket Board and the New Zealand cricket association.

I have great respect for Jagmohan Dalmiya. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has already denied that he had ever made a complaint against me for approaching him to fix a match.

Is it true that Scotland Yard sleuths have spoken to your London-based friends, the Patels?

It is true they have been making some inquiries about my visit with some of my friends. We have nothing to hide.

Why were you keen on signing the English team? Weren't you earlier talking to the Sri Lankan team for the Pandove benefit match?

Since the Sri Lankan team had expressed its inability to play, I was opting for an alternative. As the English team was available during the dates when we wanted to hold the benefit match, so there was no harm in finding out if they could play.

Billiards players Michael Ferreira and Geet Sethi have been critical of you. Why are they upset with you?

I don't know if they are upset with me. Michael and Geet should have no reason to complain because they got every single rupee that was due to them. In fact, they got ten times more than they would have got elsewhere. They should be thankful to Radiant Sports because Radiant Sports made billiards and snooker popular in India.

There is a rumour that the West Indian players who came to Delhi to play exhibition matches before the World Cup were not paid by you.

I do not know who is spreading such rumours. Roger Harper, one of the West Indians who came to Delhi to take part in a series of exhibition matches, went on record as saying the players had been paid even for those matches which could not be held for some reason or the other. Not a single person who has had any dealings with me can complain that he did not get a fair deal.

If I had not been fair, Radiant Sports would not have survived. It is the only sports promotion organisation to have survived in India. Mind you, organising an event is not a joke, and to organise big matches is even more difficult.

What is your problem with Doordarshan? Why have you filed a suit against Prasar Bharti?

I paid Rs 700,000 for the live telecast of each of the Masters tournament matches by Doordarshan. One day before the tournament was to begin, the Doordarshan authorities told me that the fee was Rs 38 lakhs. I would have paid the money provided they had charged all others the same amount. They telecast so many other events live without charging any money. This includes some other sports events. So, why should I pay when others get the same facility free of cost? I went to court and got a stay.

People