The internal feud within the Board of Control for Cricket in India took an "ugly turn" on Monday with board secretary Anurag Thakur launching a "stinging attack" on ICC Chair N. Srinivasan, saying that he should "actually share information on bookies" with his own family members "whose involvement in betting has been proved," according to the PTI. A day after ICC issued an advisory to Thakur to "stay away from suspected bookies," the BCCI secretary hit back at Srinivasan through an open letter in which he questioned the timing of the "counter offensive" initiated at the "behest of the ICC chairman." Reports had said that BCCI was sent a letter by the ICC about Thakur "being seen with an alleged bookie Karan Gilhotra in Chandigarh and the BJP MP's office on Monday issued a media release." Thakur said in a letter, "I only wish that you had shared the list of 'unverified suspected bookies' with me and other colleagues so that we could identify such persons and keep away from them." Thakur added, "It is curious that intimation about having known this 'suspected bookie' was brought to the ICC notice by your friend Mr. Neeraj Gunde. Mr. Neeraj Gunde incidentally is circulating to the media in Delhi the details of documents against your critics in the BCCI. He operates on your behalf" (PTI, 4/27).
