Sunil Gavaskar questions Srinivasan's silence despite having knowledge about illegal betting

Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at BCCI President in-exile N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, in connection with his role in betting and has questioned Srinivasan’s silence over the matter.

“There are reports which say the Mudgal committee report has found that Srinivasan knew about betting but did not do anything about it. Srinivasan should answer for why he did not act if he knew that a player was guilty,” Gavaskar said.

He also said that strictest of action must be taken on Meiyaapan.

"The full force of the law must come down on Meiyyapan,” the former India batsman said while speaking to the India Today Group.

The 65-year-old was invited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Kapil Dev and VVS Laxman to attend a special reception hosted by Australian PM Tony Abbott at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Gavaskar wants players caught in match-fixing to be banned

He further added that if any player is found guilty of having committed any wrong acts, he should either be put behind bars and his cricketing records should be completely wiped out. He also called for zero tolerance against match-fixing.

Gavaskar, who was appointed as the interim BCCI President during the IPL earlier this year, said that India should follow New Zealand’s system when it comes to dealing with cricketers who are found to be guilty in match-fixing.

"New Zealand has come up with a new law on betting which says that guilty players will be jailed. India should have the same law,” he added.

"A lot of betting happens through black money. But if you open official betting shop, Government will be able to increase its revenues. It's like prohibition, if someone wants to bet illegally, they will. Government should think about legalizing betting.”

Indian batsmen will have to play the waiting game

When asked India’s upcoming tour to Australia, Gavaskar said that the Indian batsmen have to be patient early on in their innings before they start to open out and play their shots.

“Indian players will need to be patient. They will need to keep extravagant shots in their pockets when they play in Australia. This is not T20 or One-day Internationals. Australian pitches are the best to bat on but the players have to be patient," Gavaskar said.