Have always played the game in the right spirit, all allegations are false: Suresh Raina

NEW DELHI: Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has sought to clear the air after his name figured in a letter of caution sent by former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi to International Cricket Council CEO Dave Richardson.

The letter also named two other cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and West Indian Dwayne Bravo and had alleged that the three had taken bribes (money and apartments) from a builder who was also a bookie.

The letter that was written in June 2013 got leaked on Twitter recently in which Modi said he was passing on some information he had got, which, if Richardson thought fit he could pass on to the anti-corruption unit of the council.

In a statement, Raina said: “In the wake of recent media reports about me, I would like to make my fans around the world aware and clear the air that I have always played the game in right spirit and with utmost integrity. I have never been involved in any wrong doing and all allegations against me are false. Playing cricket is my passion for whichever team I have represented.”

He also said “I'm also figuring out my legal rights to take the right steps ahead in this matter.”

The Indian cricket board had given its clean chit to the Indian players last month. Anurag Thakur, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had said that ICC has not informed BCCI of any wrongdoing.

“Lalit Modi had written to ICC and they then informed us about the letter. The three players named are international players and they fall under the jurisdiction of ICC. They have to ensure and prepare a report. They have not reported anything so far so in a way it’s a clean chit for these players to play,” Thakur had said.

An ICC statement last month had confirmed that “Mr Modi’s confidential e-mail, which was received in June 2013, and which has recently been published on Twitter, was provided to the ACSU at the time. The ACSU handled that information in accordance with its standard operating procedures, which included sharing it with the BCCI’s anti-corruption unit.”

Thakur had clarified at the time that if ICC had found any wrong doing, they would have informed BCCI.