Reacting sharply to a British newspaper claim that the India-Pakistan semifinal in the 2011 Cricket World Cup may have been fixed, the ICC on Monday night dismissed the claim as ‘spurious’.
ICC also dismissed the claim that it was investigating the semifinal.
"The story carried by the newspaper, in which it has claimed that the ICC is investigating the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semifinal between India and Pakistan, is baseless and misleading," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said in a statement.
"The ICC has no reason or evidence to require an investigation into this match."
ICC asserted that Indo-Pak clash was clean and the 2011 World Cup was one of the most successful World Cup organised so far.
"It is indeed sad for spurious claims to be made which only serve to cause doubt on the semi-final of one of the most successful ICC Cricket World Cups ever," Lorgat said.
Earlier, allegations that the World Cup semifinal was fixed were also rubbished by players and those associated with the game even as the Bollywood actress at the centre of the fresh controversy threatened to sue a British newspaper which carried the report.
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly found little substance in the report published in a London newspaper Sunday Times.
"I don't know how they have got the information but let me tell that India are world champions and nobody can take that away from us," Ganguly told reporters here today.
Former India spinner Bishen Singh Bedi also did not find any merit in the allegations.
"I am hurt as a cricketer that the name of the Indian team has been dragged into it when they played the semifinal against Pakistan. I think that is a load of rubbish," Bedi said.
The newspaper carried out a sting operation on a Delhi-based bookie, who claimed that the Indian bookmakers are fixing the results of England county games and international fixtures and they are using a Bollywood actress as a honeytrap to recruit players from countries.