Tendulkar examined by Madhavan over 1999 Ahmedabad Test

The Vigilance Commissioner of India's cricket Board, K Madhavan has examined batting mastreo Sachin Tendulkar in connection with the controversial Ahmedabad Test match in 1999 when India did not enforce the follow-on against New Zealand despite being in a position to do so.

Sources in Mumbai today said Tendulkar was examined by Madhavan before the team left for Zimbabwe last month. They said Tendulkar was the third person to be questioned by Madhavan, who has been asked by the BCCI to probe into the controversial Test, in which India, with a lead of 275 runs, could have easily asked New Zealand to follow-on.

Tendulkar was leading the team in the controversial Test, which was even probed by the CBI during its investigations into the betting and match-fixing scandal. However, the sources said Tendulkar was "examined as a witness only" and his comments were necessary in the Madhavan probe as he was the captain of the team.

Madhavan, a former Joint Director of CBI, had already examined Ajit Wadekar (the then manager of the team) and Kapil Dev (the then coach of the team), the sources said. When appraoched by PTI for his confirmation, Madhavan, who investigated the famous bank security scam, refused to comment on the issue. However, he said he was probing the Ahmedabad Test and would be submitting his report by this month end after examining another person.

The Ahmedabad Test sparked a serious controversy after the Indian side did not ask the Kiwis to follow on. The match, which ended in a draw, was played from October 29 to November 2. About his finding in the Ahmedabad Test, Madhavan said "my inquires have revealed that the match was drawn due to certain factors and I cannot say anything beyond this."

He, however, added that since the Test took place in 1999, it may not be possible to probe into all the aspects that led to the drawn result. Besides this, he said the BCCI had been referring to him for investigating some more cases including the recent ticket scam in Goa.

Comparing his report to the one submitted by the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption Unit chief Sir Paul Condon, Madhavan said "the terms of references of such inquiries aim at identifying betting. But this has to be tackled by the police and CBI, who have been doing a commendable job."

Madhavan favoured making mandatory certain rules against carrying mobile phones to the match venues or inviting unknown persons to hotel rooms by players the world over. The BCCI Vigilance Commissioner commended the Condon report and said "it was well researched and definitely a step in the right direction."