Match-fixing scandal | 'Asked Tendulkar, Dravid and Kumble about approaches,' recalls Ganguly

The 53-year-said he initially had little awareness of how widespread such practices could be and sought clarity directly from within the dressing room.

India's ex skipper Sourav Ganguly recalled the times when he had to personally question senior team-mates -- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble -- about whether they had ever been approached in connection with match-fixing.

It may be recalled that Indian cricket was rocked in controversy following match-fixing allegations against several senior players in the early 2000s with Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja enforced with life bans for their 'alleged' role in it.

“The issues the Indian team faced just before I became captain, betting, match-fixing, I didn’t even know about these things. I kept asking Sachin and Rahul whether this actually happened or if anyone had ever approached them, because nobody had come to me,” Ganguly said in a podcast conversation with Raj Shamani.

The 53-year-old who was famous for his celebrations after India won the NatWest Trophy in England said he initially had little awareness of how widespread such practices could be and sought clarity directly from within the dressing room.

“So I asked Sachin, ‘Tujhe kisi ne puucha?’ He said no. We were all playing both formats, Tests and one-dayers. I asked Anil (Kumble) as well, and he said, ‘No. Nobody asked me’. So I wasn’t really sure what it even meant at that time. My focus was simply on the job in hand, so these things weren’t in my head,” added Ganguly, who is the current president of the Cricket Association of Bengal.

(With inputs from agencies)