Mudgal looks to rope in Sachin or Ganguly
MUMBAI: Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly figure prominently in the search by the Justice Mukul Mudgal panel to include a prominent former cricketer to assist their IPL corruption inquiry.
The Supreme Court gave the Mudgal committee wide-ranging powers on Friday to further investigate the 12 players whose names it had submitted to the court in a sealed envelope. The court has directed the committee to submit its report by August end.
The panel, which wants to include one former player of ‘repute and integrity, has begun short-listing names and will take a final decision once senior IPS officer, BB Mishra, who will lead the investigation, comes on board.
According to sources, its first choice is Sachin Tendulkar. However, it is learnt that the panel will also ascertain whether he can make himself available for the entire duration of the probe and whether a Bharat Ratna recipient can join in such an inquiry.
The other choice of the panel is Ganguly. The former skipper has no apparent conflict of interest, he is not attached to any IPL franchise and does not hold a BCCI post. “He has been in a leadership position and his thinking is very contemporary. And most importantly, he is well-versed with modern cricket and its issues,” said a source.
Two other former skippers, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, were not considered because they are attached to IPL teams RR and MI respectively.