Dhoni silent on conflict of interest controversy

New Delhi: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has maintained his silence on the issue of conflict of interest controversy.

He was addressing a press conference today before India take on South Africa in the opening match of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy on Thursday

Dhoni said that the team is focused on the game.

In a startling revelation on Monday, a leading Indian business daily reported that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has 15 percent stake in a sports marketing firm that manages him and three other Indian cricketers.

Rhiti Sports is owned by Arun Pandey, a close friend of Dhoni. In 2010, Dhoni signed up with Rhiti reportedly for Rs 210 crore, an average of Rs 70 crore a year, the costliest deal in Indian cricket.

Even last week the Indian skipper had refused to answer questions related to the IPL spot-fixing scandal saying he’ll talk when the right time comes.

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Sachin is on fixing

New Delhi: Breaking his silence on the raging spot-fixing scandal, Sachin Tendulkar on Friday said that the developments of the last two weeks were "shocking and disappointing" and the faith reposed by the millions of fans in the game should be justified.

Tendulkar said the authorities must take sincere steps to get to the root of the issue and ensure that credibility of the game is restored.

The champion batsman, who retired from IPL after his side Mumbai Indians won the title recently, said as a cricketer he has always learnt to play in the true spirit of the game.

"It has always hurt me when the game of cricket is in the news for the wrong reasons. The developments in the last two weeks have been shocking and disappointing. As cricketers we are always taught to go out, fight hard, give our very best and play in the true spirit of the game," Tendulkar said in a statement.

The milestone man of Indian cricket said it was important that the authorities get to the root of the problem.

"During this difficult phase, I join every cricketer, from the boys in the maidans across the country to those who represent clubs, states and the country, who trust the authorities to take sincere steps to get to the root of the issue.

"The faith reposed by the millions of fans should be justified and we owe it to them to ensure that Indian cricket is all about pride and joy," the statement added.

Tendulkar's statement on the spot-fixing scandal assumes great importance since none of the current Indian cricketers have spoken on the issue, since it broke out about two weeks ago.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has steadfastly refused to speak on the scandal, apparently under a gag order from the BCCI.

Dhoni evaded questions on spot-fixing at the pre-departure press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday and also did the same at the media interaction in Birmingham yesterday ahead of Champions Trophy.

The only thing Dhoni said at the press conference in Birmingham was that Indian cricket's reputation was not "gone" and that some people were "slightly mentally weak" compared to others. He said that he will speak when the time was right.

With more and more cricket boards and state unit officials coming out in the open against BCCI President N Srinivasan's continuance over the last few days, it will be interesting to see whether more cricketers also start giving their views, taking a cue from Tendulkar.

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