Six top Indian players have been banned for one year after participating in exhibition matches, following the West Indies tour this year, against the Indian Board of Control’s directions. A further six have received heavy fines. Dilip Vengsarkar, who has had running battles with the Board on several contractual issues, led the team in four ‘internationals’ in North America, and he, along with Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Muhammed Azharuddin, Kiran More, and Arun Lal, has been suspended.
Chetan Sharma and Arshad Ayub face similar action pending their appearance before a disciplinary committee on September 11 after fulfilling English league commitments. The ban, effective until August 6, 1990, rules the six players out of the Nehru Centenary Tournament and Test tours to Pakistan, New Zealand, and England in the coming year.
Five of the six banned players held a press conference where they admitted the charges, claiming only that on past occasions where the board’s permission was required, it had always been a formality and asking for ‘forgiveness’. Ravi Shastri, who is currently playing for Glamorgan, supported the statement. A formal appeal will be lodged before the Board’s Working Committee meets on August 19. West Indies and Australia’s withdrawal from the Nehru Centenary Tournament has seriously damaged India’s hopes of staging an unofficial world one-day championship.
West Indies have agreed instead to play against an International XI in a match organized by leading Canadian charity, United Way in Toronto, despite depressing attempts by India to attract their players with financial incentives. India unsuccessfully offered $200,000 to United Way to change the date, warning of the comparative weakness of an International XI selected at that time. The situation has spilled over into a diplomatic and political affair, even likely to affect October’s Commonwealth summit in Kuala Lumpur.
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