International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Haroon Lorgat on Wednesday rubbished reports that the World Cup round-robin match between Australia and Zimbabwe was under investigation for match-fixing and described the claims as 'fictional'.
"The article...can only be described as fictional," Lorgat said.
"We do not comment on the activities of the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and for good reason.
"However, after several misleading and downright false stories appearing in recent weeks it is time for us to show our displeasure and expose those responsible for affecting the integrity of the media," he told reporters here.
"It is also patently false of the reporter to claim that the ICC ever suggested to it that the match was corrupted. The ICC confirms that, in terms of its policy, at no stage did anyone from the ICC speak to the journalist on this topic."
The Times of India recently carried a report saying the above-mentioned match on February 21 was under ICC investigation for match-fixing, and the ICC has now asked the newspaper to either substantiate its claims of corruption or issue immediate retraction.
"To uphold the integrity of the media I expect the Times of India to retract such baseless stories," Lorgat said.
The report quoted unnamed sources as saying that three Dawood Ibrahim men had met players in the hotel lobby where a deal was struck for spot-fixing.
The reports further said that the Mumbai police tipped off the ICC about the match being fixed.
