Congress member attacks Kumble, Srinath in assembly

A Congress member today came down heavily on the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), charging it with irregularities and training his guns on KSCA president Anil Kumble and secretary Javagal Srinath.

PM Ashok alleged that the two former cricketers were behaving in a "dictatorial fashion".

"Anil Kumble gets 1.8% commission in every player contract," he said, without elaborating what contract he was referring to.

Ashok said certain changes were made to the players' dressing room and press box and M Chinnaswamy Stadium was repainted without calling for tenders.

"On the face of it, it's seen that irregularities were to the tune of at least Rs5 crore," Ashok said.

During the recent India-England World Cup tie, the KSCA, run by Kumble and Srinath, distributed tickets to "people they wanted".

Among others, Rahul Dravid got 120 tickets, while Venkatesh Prasad and Roger Binny received 100 tickets each, he said.

He said it was stated that 15,000 tickets were given to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), adding that this was a "pure lie", as CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya had issued a statement, saying that they had not asked for tickets.