Home support for Kale

KOLKATA: Abhijit Kale, banned by BCCI for allegedly offering bribes to selectors, was given the clean chit by the Maharashtra Cricket Association on Sunday.
The MCA, which conducted a ‘probe’ on Saturday, suggested that he and the two selectors be put to the lie detector test. Chairman Balasaheb Thorve said in Pune that the MCA is supporting Kale.“Whether to go to the court or not is Abhijit’s call. MCA won’t get involved in a legal tangle,’’ he said, adding “If a player was not even in India’s top 35 (during the Challenger series), how can he demand to play for a senior team? Moreover, Abhijit doesn’t have the cash to bribe selectors. I think he is innocent.’’
The players’ body and former players have also joining the chorus of ‘Why ban before proven guilty’. The BCCI has called a working committee meeting in New Delhi next Sunday, and a representative of the MCA has been invited. Kapil Dev, the star attraction at a consular golf tournament in the city, put his weight behind Kale, who he said he knew “for a long time�. “I went through a similar position. Take it from me it’s bad. Real bad,� said the former skipper who had to clear himself of match-fixing allegations three years ago.
On Saturday, former Hyderabad and India A player Vanka Pratap had told TNN about a selector demanding Rs 50,000 from him through a mediator for an India A berth in 1997. On Sunday, Ritesh Yadav, a junior cricketer in UP, said a selector had demanded money and that he had drawn the attention of Jagmohan Dalmiya. Both the BCCI chief and the UPCA secretary Jyoti Bajpai, who is also the BCCI joint-secretary said they have not received any such complaint.