Gautam Gambhir slams BCCI, CoA, CAB after Azharuddin rings bell at Eden Gardens

Kolkata: Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin was given the honour of ringing the bell at the Eden Gardens on Sunday before the start of the first T20I between India and West Indies.

However, the gesture did not go down well with Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir who slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), saying that it seemed like “No tolerance policy against corrupt takes a leave on Sundays.”

Azharuddin who featured in 99 Tests and 334 ODIs for India was banned by the BCCI in 2000 for his involvement in the match-fixing scandal during a home series against South Africa. However, the Andhra Pradesh High Court soon uplifted the ban 12 years later after it termed the punishment ‘unsustainable’.

“India may have won today at Eden but I am sorry @bcci, CoA &CAB lost. Looks like the No Tolerance Policy against Corrupt takes a leave on Sundays! I know he was allowed to contest HCA polls but then this is shocking….The bell is ringing, hope the powers that be are listening,” Gambhir wrote on Twitter soon after India’s victory.

Azharuddin has tried to undertake administrative duties in cricket after his ban came to an end but has been unlucky. In his very first attempt to contest the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) elections, the former right-handed batsman was rejected by the board after they expressed there was lack of clarity on the status of his ban.

Earlier in 2018, the BCCI allowed him to contest the polls and also mentioned he was no longer prohibited from holding any position in the BCCI, ICC or any other affiliate bodies.