Cricket: Raided official warns cricket

NEW DELHI - Former International Cricket Council president Jagmohan Dalmiya has warned against a "witch-hunt" following tax raids on the homes of top Indian players and officials, including his own.

"If the raids are part of an effort to cleanse cricket, I welcome it wholeheartedly," Dalmiya said following Thursday's operation that saw more than 300 tax officials swoop on 85 targets all over India.

"But if it means witch-hunting, then it is very regrettable."

The raids, which added a fresh twist to the match-fixing scandal that has rocked world cricket in recent months, targeted several icons of Indian cricket, including current coach Kapil Dev.

Dalmiya, whose term as ICC president ended last month, said the raids on his home and office in Calcutta had been carried out without incident, despite what one television channel had reported.

"There were no charges or allegations against me. The officers asked me about some television rights and commercial deals from the 1996 World Cup," he said.

The 1996 tournament was co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"The media has got some facts wrong. There was no untoward incident either at my residence or office," Dalmiya said.

"The officers who met me were extremely accommodating and respectful."

Dalmiya was questioned for eight hours at a five-star hotel in New Delhi.

He walked out of an evening press briefing after just five minutes when one reporter asked whether he would resign from all posts he held, as a way of accepting moral responsibility for the match-fixing scandal that has engulfed international cricket.

Dalmiya is head of the Cricket Association of Bengal.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board have formed a commission to study how to implement Justice Qayyum's recommendations on dealing with match-fixing.