South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs turned his attention to cricket on Friday, a day after being interrogated by Indian police in a six-year-old match-fixing case.
The 32-year-old explosive batsman was playing in a warm-up match against a Mumbai team, three days before South Africa open their Champions Trophy campaign against New Zealand.
”Herschelle is now concentrating on what he does best — playing cricket,” South Africa team spokesperson Gordon Templeton told Reuters.
”Herschelle is happy that his meeting with the senior Delhi police officials went well,” Templeton added.
Gibbs arrived in the country on Wednesday for the first time since the scandal broke after a Delhi police investigation into corruption during South Africa’s tour of India in 2000.
Back then, Indian police charged the then captain Hansie Cronje and team mates Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Strydom with ”cheating, fraud and criminal conspiracy related to match-fixing and betting”.
Gibbs was subsequently fined and suspended for six months by his national board after admitting he agreed to under-perform in a one-day international.
The offer was relayed to him by the late Cronje, who was subsequently banned from cricket for life.
Gibbs had declined to tour India since then over fears he may be detained.
On Thursday, Delhi police joint commissioner Ranjit Narayan, told a news conference that Gibbs admitted during the interrogation that he was made an offer by Cronje and that he was part of the conspiracy. – Reuters