OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 1.45pm.
SACKED South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje told the King Commission into match-fixing that former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin introduced him to a bookmaker who offered him money for losing a Test in 1996.
Cronje said Azharuddin arranged a meeting with the bookmaker known as MK in at a hotel during South Africa’s tour of India in 1996.
“On the evening of the third day of the third Test against India in Kanpur I received a call from Mohammed Azharuddin. He called me to a room in a hotel and introduced me to Mukesh Gupta otherwise known as MK. Azharuddin then departed and left us alone in the room.”
Cronje said that “MK asked if we would give wickets away on the last day of the Test to ensure that we lost” in return for money.
“He asked me to speak to other players and gave me approximately $30000 in cash to do so.”
Cronje said he promised to speak to his team to contrive an outcome, but never did so.
“In the event we however lost the Test match. I had effectively received money for doing nothing and I rationalised to myself that this was somehow acceptable because I had done nothing,” Cronje said.
Cronje said the same bookmaker also offered him money to throw the final one-day match of the tour and he this time put the offer to the team, but they rejected it after two meetings. — AFP