Azharuddin pleads innocence

Azharuddin believes the CBI 'answered' for him

Former India cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin has denied charges of match-fixing.

The 37-year-old was one of five players mentioned in the Central Bureau of Investigation report on match-fixing released on 1 November.

The report alleged the cricketer had admitted to fixing matches.

Azharuddin spoke for the first time on Thursday and said in an interview published on the internet site Rediff.com : "This is all wrong. I have done nothing of this kind.

He was then asked in the interview if he had admitted to fixing.

Statement

"They (the CBI) asked and they answered," replied Azharuddin.

Since the CBI report, Azharuddin has given a 12-page statement to the national cricket board's inquiry officer, K. Madhaven - the contents of which have yet to be made public.

Madhaven had earlier recorded statements from former Test players Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and Nayan Mongia as well as former team therapist Ali Irani, after they were all name in the report.

The former joint director of the CBI is now set to submit his findings to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by the end of the week.