Mumbai, Dec 18: Former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev firmly emphasised that he has “no reason not to believe Azharuddin`s words” over the match-fixing controversy he was allegedly involved in.

Strongly pleading the case of Azhar, whose `crime’ is yet to be proved, Kapil said he firmly believed that the wristy Hyderabadi player was “innocent to the best of my knowlege.

“Why should I believe a guy on the street who pointed fingers against a man who has played for the country for so long? He played with me for 20 years, and as far as I know, he has not done it,” he told newspersons here.

“I know the pain. They kept me on the front pages for 100 days. If it happened with me, it can happen with anybody else,” he said, taking a dig at the media who he accused of sensationalising “negative news” by splashing them on the front pages.

“At the end of the day, truth will come out,” he said, saying that his belief may possibly be misplaced, but until then the former player should be spared of the victimisation.

Kapil believed Indian task in the forthcoming World Cricket Cup as `really tough’ but not impossible’, and felt Australia has an edge over others as they have a `much more balanced side.’

Talking to newspersons here, the world cup winning captain of India said almost all the teams had similar chances. “But Australia has an edge at present for their perfect combination of batting and bowling. Their fielding is superb,” he assessed.

India had played their heart out in the last ten months. “But there is that margin of doubt, given the pitch conditions in South Africa,” he said rating Indian chances as `tough.

“If India can make it into the last six, it is anybody`s game,” he added while giving equal chances to all the playing teams.—PPI