COA robs probing unit of its element of surprise in Mohammad Shami case

The Committee Of Administrators (COA) may have compromised investigations into allegations of match-fixing against India pacer Mohammad Shami. On Wednesday, they issued directions to their probing agency in an e-mail and almost made it public by marking the communication to other officials of the cricket board.

Officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that by marking the email to “anyone and everyone” in the board, the COA has negated the crucial element of surprise.

The COA had appeared clueless, after withholding Shami’s name from the central contract list last week, on how to act after Shami’s wife levelled many charges that ranged from attempt to murder to match-fixing.

On Wednesday, the COA committed another blunder by officially directing BCCI’s chief Neeraj Kumar, via email, to probe “three specific allegations”. The communication was also marked to office-bearers of the Board, CEO Rahul Johri and CFO Santosh Rangnekar, apart from two legal advisers.

This email has raised questions on how could a fair probe be possible after the COA has compromised on its “element of surprise”?

The COA’s letter, a copy of which is with DNA, stated, “Please investigate the above assertions/ allegations under the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code and submit a report to the COA with your findings as to whether there is any basis to proceed further in terms thereof. The investigation should cover (i) the identity and antecedents of “Mohammad Bhai” and “Alisba”; (ii) whether any money was in fact sent by the said Mohammad Bhai through the said Alisba to Md. Shami; and (iii) if yes, the purpose for which the said money was received by Md. Shami.”

Many BCCI office-bearers are asking why was it necessary to mark such a sensitive email to everyone in the board?

A BCCI senior official said, “ACSU has no power to legally investigate any case. It can only rely on local police (Kolkata police in this case) or various government investigation agencies’ probe. By keeping quiet for a week (since contracts were awarded) and now asking ACSU publicly to submit report on Shami’s relations with a Pakistani woman and an England-based businessman Mohammed, COA has only hampered the probe.

“Can we now expect these people to now wait for ACSU personnel to handover their side of proofs, if any?”

WADA-like action

The BCCI has always maintained that “it has its own mechanism like WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) or any international sports body kind of investigating authorities to ensure fair play in sport (cricket).
The questions now staring at COA’s is:

1. Has there been a single instance where WADA has revealed to any sports association or any individual official about their plans of testing any particular player?
2. By making the probe public (revealing to everyone in BCCI), has COA not ensured that the individuals under probe will now have enough time to evade ACSU?
3. By limiting the investigation to three specific points, can COA expect ACSU to go and investigate individuals (one Pakistani and one England-based) living outside India?

Now all that is left with ACSU is to rely on Shami’s wife Hasin Jahan’s testimony, where she has talked about domestic abuse, harassment and phone conversations allegedly pointing to match-fixing.

Jahan alleged that Shami took money from a Pakistani woman ‘Alisba on the insistence of ‘Mohammad’.

On Tuesday, the Kolkata Police had sent a letter to BCCI asking it to disclose travel details of Shami after the last T20 match in South Africa.

Shami’s last match on the tour to South Africa was the third Test in Johannesburg, in which the pacer played a starring role to help India register a victory.

ACSU chief Kumar will be relieved from his post on March 31 but will continue to work as consultant till the completion of this year’s Indian Premier League.