Former Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jaywant Lele finds himself at the centre of yet another controversy, this time regarding the visit of Mumbai underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to the Indian players' dressing room during a One-Day International in Sharjah in 1987.
Lele, who was quoted by Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna on Sunday as saying that Dawood had visited the dressing room and offered a Toyota car to each player if they won the match, today said the international criminal was introduced to them then as an "industrialist".
"After the Mumbai blasts in 1993, I and other members of the team came to know about his real identity," Lele said, adding "nobody had received any money from him."
The former secretary, who famously predicted in 1999 that Sachin Tendulkar's India would lose 3-0 to Australia Down Under, also rejected the charge of involvement of members of the Indian team in match-fixing.
He, however, did not rule out betting on individuals' performance.
Lele said he was opposed to the decision to impose a life ban on former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja, saying "no charges of fixing were proved against both the players".
