Says he has no regrets; wants BCCI to give him a bigger role in coaching cricketers.
“Main toh Juae ke bare me baat nahi karoonga,” is what Manoj Prabhakar said in jest when contacted on Friday. The former India medium pacer was the whistle-blower on Indian players being involved in match-fixing that came to light in 2000. Subsequently, he was banned for five years for his alleged involvement, along with Mohammad Azharuddin who is currently serving a life ban.
“Why do you want to dig up these old stories? I would say you must just let it be,” was Prabhakar’s first reaction when grilled about the match-fixing scandal. Prabhakar had famously stated that World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev had offered him a sum of Rs25 lakh to underperform in a game against Pakistan in 1994.
“If you ask me, in spite of everything I have no regrets about trying to tell the world the truth about those involved in match-fixing. Whether they believe me or not is a different story. But I stand by what I said. I fought alone. There was no one on my right-hand side and no one on my left-hand side. I received no support and also I was banned. It is a closed chapter now. But life must go on. I have moved on,” Prabhakar told DNA on Friday.
When asked if he would had done anything differently looking back on what has happened over the past 10 years, Prabhakar said, “See someone had to clean up the system. I believe my legacy is that today the game is clean. When I watch India playing a cricket game I am confident that none of the players are underperforming. It gives me great satisfaction to see that the game of cricket seems to be clean now,” Prabhakar added.
The former Test bowler believes that things could have been different if he had got more support from the administrators and fans. “Anyways, I am looking ahead. I am coaching Rajasthan in Ranji Trophy. It gives me great satisfaction to pass on the tips to the next generation of players. I would love it if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would give me an opportunity to give something back to the game,” Prabhakar added.
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