MUMBAI, Nov 21: India’s sports minister Ajay Maken says a World Cup match-fixing allegation made by former cricketer Vinod Kambli merits a probe even if the game in question was 15 years ago.

Kambli had alleged that there was something wrong with captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s decision to bowl first against Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup semi-final on an Eden Gardens pitch that aided spin.

The game was abandoned due to crowd trouble and awarded to Sri Lanka after India fell from 98-1 to 120-8 chasing a target of 252.

“I never said that I am putting my weight behind Kambli on the whole issue,” Maken was quoted as saying in The Times of India on Monday.

“All I meant was the concerned sports body should not take anyone’s allegations lightly, even if that thing is some 15-year-old issue.”

Left-hander Kambli, who played 18 Tests and 104 one-dayers, claimed that his team-mates had been stunned by the decision to bowl first.

“We had decided to bat first in the team meeting,” Kambli said. “I can never forget that match because it ended my career, I was dropped from the team, I was made the scapegoat.”

Maken said the Indian cricket board should be in charge of an investigation, but so far cricket authorities have given no indication they will act upon the claims.

“We’re not giving any importance to the claims made by Kambli,” Rajiv Shukla, vice-president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said. “If a person wakes up after 15 years and makes some allegations, that is not worth taking note of.”

The International Cricket Council president Sharad Pawar has also dismissed Kambli’s claims.—AP