Board decides to wait and watch on fixing sting

NEW DELHI: The BCCI on Sunday reacted cautiously to a sting operation which alleged pitch doctoring in three Test matches featuring India, saying it would consider action against implicated former cricketer Robin Morris only if he is found guilty in an ongoing ICC probe.

The sting has been carried out by Al Jazeera channel and the Test matches in question are India vs Sri Lanka (Galle, July 26-29, 2017), India vs Australia (Ranchi, March 16-20, 2017) and India vs England (Chennai, December 16-20, 2016). The first and third Tests mentioned were won by India while the Ranchi encounter ended in a draw. “We believe ICC has started its probe. Let them complete that and pronounce Morris guilty. The BCCI will only act when they have the verdict in hand,” said a senior office-bearer of the Board.

He also said that Morris, who has played 42 first-class and 51 List A matches in his career is not currently involved in any BCCI projects. “We need to check with our Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) whether Morris’ name was there on the suspect list. Secondly, he is not associated with any BCCI or state unit project currently from where we need to pull him out.

“So the only thing left is BCCI domestic cricketers’ pension of ~22,500 (after deductions). If he is getting that pension, BCCI is well within its rights to cancel that but only after he has been proven guilty,” the official said.

Morris, on his part, has reportedly denied any wrongdoing and has cried conspiracy.

In the documentary titled, Morris, alleged to be a matchfixer, is seen introducing Galle curator Tharanga Indika to the undercover reporter and boasting about getting pitches doctored as sought by fixers.