25 October,2010 08:39 AM IST | | Sai Mohan
BCCI secretary insists that the woman with Suresh Raina was his agent; sources reveal she is a close friend
The Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary and President-elect, N Srinivasan has stressed that there is no mystery surrounding the woman Suresh Raina was spotted with during India's July-August tour of Sri Lanka.
Srinivasan said: "It has already been established that the woman is Raina's agent. There is absolutely no mystery here. She also handles a few Sri Lankan players and the BCCI already knew that Raina's agent was in the hotel to sign a few contracts."
Raina in the red?
The BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) denounced London's Sunday Times for a report that claimed International Cricket Council's (ICC) Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ASCU) was probing why BCCI didn't react to a report that SLC sent to them about Raina being spotted with a woman allegedly linked to bookies during the tour.
According to the report, Raina on more than one night was seen in company of the woman in question. It further claimed that SLC provided BCCI CCTV footage from cameras installed at the Indian team hotel in Sri Lanka.
Quoting sources, the newspaper further claimed that ICC was unhappy with BCCI's decision to play down the matter after it had received a report from SLC.u00a0 It is learnt that the woman who was reportedly with Raina is not his agent, but a friend. Raina did not respond to telephone calls yesterday.
This controversy comes just months after Pakistani player agent, Mazhar Majeed was caught on camera, revealing his connections with bookies in London.u00a0 "Nothing of that nature has taken place. What CCTV footage is the newspaper talking about? What report are they talking about? It is a totally false report. We never sent any report to BCCI on the matter. As it is, BCCI has confirmed the woman is Raina's agent. The matter is closed," SLC Secretary Nishanta Ranatunga told MiD DAY. "Now, whether the agent has links with bookies or no is for ICC's ASCU to investigate." Meanwhile, Srinivasan said the BCCI will not take legal action against the newspaper, but is upset by the nature of reporting. "It (Sunday Times) should have been more responsible before publishing a report like this. "It can tarnish the image of a playeru00a0 and that is unfortunate. We won't contemplate legal action, but hope that the newspaper can be more responsible in future," he toldu00a0 MiD DAY.
People at Sunday Times were not available for comment.
