Rauf investigation not confirmed

Police say umpire ‘has not been called in for interrogation’.

MUMBAI: Police said they were ‘investigating all the angles’ in the Indian spot-fixing scandal, but refused to confirm if they were targeting top Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf.

Rauf was withdrawn from next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in England amid media reports that he is under police investigation for spot-fixing, said the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Police in Mumbai would not confirm whether the umpire was being investigated as part of the probe which has led to the arrests of three Indian cricketers, including Test fast-bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, and 11 bookmakers.

A police official said ‘we are investigating all the angles’, adding that Rauf ‘has not been called in for interrogation’.

The ICC said the decision to withdraw Rauf was made after media reports on Wednesday ‘that the Mumbai police are conducting an investigation’ into the umpire’s activities.

“We feel that it is in Asad’s best interests as well as those of the sport and the event itself, that he is withdrawn from participating in the Champions Trophy,” the ICC said in a statement. “At this stage, the ICC has no further comment to make.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2013.