Lalu seeks CBI probe into betting in cricket

The Railway minister alleges that the selection of the Indian cricket team is faulty.

Union Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday alleged that the selection of the Indian cricket team was confined to only three states and demanded a CBI inquiry into the betting on cricket matches.

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The selection of players for the national team is confined only to Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka, Yadav said while speaking to reporters in Lucknow. The players from the rest of the country are ignored, he claimed citing the example of Mohammad Kaif. Expressing serious concern over betting on cricket matches, Yadav claimed that betting worth Rs 6,000 crore had been put on cricket matches and demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. "We must find who are the gangs involved in this business," he said.

Yadav demanded that the players who had discredited the country in the World Cup should be given compulsory retirement. "If Sachin Tendulkar is kept out, there will be an outcry in Mumbai... Similarly if Ganguly is axed there will be protests in Bengal and in case of Rahul Dravid, protests will happen in Karnataka," he said.