India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has sent a carefully-worded reply to the cricket control board’s showcause notice, both apologising for his involvement in the incident at a St. Lucia pub shortly after India’s exit from the ICC World Twenty20 as well insisting that he had done nothing wrong.
In his letter to the BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan, Jadeja said the Indian cricketers were abused by disappointed fans in the pub and that he was not involved in any brawl.
“I beg to inform you that I had gone to the restaurant for dinner along with other Indian team members. Some other guests, which I presume were of Indian origin from US, had also come to the restaurant and on seeing us they started abusing us,” Jadeja wrote.
“This may be because they were unhappy with our poor performance. We requested them not to abuse us but they did not stop in spite of our repeated request. No way I was involved in any ugly brawl and I went to the pub only to have dinner with my teammates. If the board thinks, I have brought disrespect to the game of cricket or our board and our country, I once again sincerely tender unconditional apology,” added the Saurashtra player.
When the incident came to light, BCCI had issued a showcause notice to seven cricketers, asking them to explain their conduct within a week.