Video backs match fixing claims

Accusers: Web journalist Tarun Tejpal (left) and Manoj Prabhakar

A team of journalists and a veteran Indian cricketer have released a secretly filmed videotape as new evidence of match fixing by top cricket players.

Former cricketer Manoj Prabhakar claims conversations with former officials and players point the finger at senior national figures in the Indian game.

To clean the game, I have taken this step

Manoj Prabhakar

Mr Prabhakar produced the 90-minute videotape at a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday, two days after he accused former Kapil Dev of offering him 2.5 million rupees to underplay against Pakistan in 1994. The allegations have been strenuously denied by Kapil Dev.

Mr Dev, who denied the original allegations, and the other players named have declined to comment further.

A cleaner game

Mr Prabhakar said he may lose all his friends in the cricketing world as a result of the tape, which was the result of a two-month investigation with journalists from a newly launched internet site - tehelka.dot.com.

Kapil Dev denies the allegations of match fixing

"To clean the game, I have taken this step," he said.

"I hope our people also, like South African captain Hansie Cronje, come forward and admit they made mistakes."

Cronje has admitting that he received money from an Indian bookmaker in exchange for information

The government has asked India's federal investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to probe the charges of match-fixing against Indian cricketers.

The CBI already has questioned several cricketers.

Poor quality

The new material, which has poor picture and sound quality, does not offer direct evidence of malpractice.

But it is likely to give fresh impetus to the passionate debate over match fixing which has dominated the headlines in India.

Mr Prabhakar holds up a copy of the secretly filmed video

Cricket is a public obsession in India and top players have a celebrity status that is almost unrivalled.

Mr Prabhakar claims match fixing has been prevalent in Indian cricket since the early 1990s and that top players, officials and even politicians were personally involved.

The release of this material appears to be part of Prabhakar's attempt to substantiate his allegations against Mr Dev and clear his name.

But there are fears that match fixing is widespread throughout the cricketing world.

In Pakistan, the disgraced former cricket captain, Salim Malik, has been banned for life after being found guilty by a judicial commission of match fixing.

Six other Pakistani cricketers were fined.

The inquiry commission in South Africa is due to publish its findings into the Cronje scandal in June.