Feature: Bribery case opens can of worms

Indian batsman Abhijit Kale remains banned from first-class cricket pending the outcome of an inquiry into bribery claims made by two national selectors.

Kale's suspension was lifted on Friday by a judge sitting at Pune's district court.

But an appeal by the Board of Control for Cricket in India was upheld at the same court on Saturday.

The decision means he cannot play for Maharashtra in their Ranji Trophy match against Orissa in Cuttack on Monday.

Kale has been accused of offering Kiran More and Pranob Roy money to try and win a place on the tour to Australia.

But he said: "I am confident truth will prevail in the end. I know I'm innocent."

The inquiry, which is being conducted by Bar Council of India chairman DV Subba Rao, began on Saturday with Kale appearing to give evidence in Visakhapatnam.

He must answer a complaint by Roy to the BCCI that he was offered a bribe of one million rupees (�12,800).

More, meanwhile, claims he was approached in an "unethical manner".

The BCCI will meet in Delhi on Sunday to discuss the scandal

The scandal is the biggest to hit Indian cricket since the match-fixing saga in 2000 which led to life bans for former captain Mohammad Azharuddin and ex-Test player Ajay Sharma and five-year bans for fellow internationals Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar.

Azharuddin and Jadeja are contesting their bans in court, and the Delhi High Court allowed Jadeja to take part in domestic cricket pending a final judgement.

Kale is a highly successful batsman at domestic level, having scored more than 6,800 runs at an average of 58.67, including 24 centuries.

His only international experience came in April when he played in a one-day game against Bangladesh in Dhaka, scoring only 10 in a nine-wicket Indian win.