Feature: Bribery case opens can of worms

Indian cricket chiefs have charged batsman Abhijit Kale with bribery.

A disciplinary panel met in Calcutta on Thursday to study a report on the case by DV Subba Rao, chairman of the Bar Council of India.

They decided there was sufficient evidence against Kale to proceed with formal action.

He is accused of trying to bribe selectors Kiran More and Pranob Roy for a place in the national squad, but has protested his innocence.

"After appraisal of the report, the committee found a prima facie case and framed charges and decided to issue a show cause notice on Abhijit Kale," said Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control (BCCI).

He now has 15 days to submit his evidence to the panel, which also includes vice-presidents Kamal Morarka and Ranbir Singh.

The scandal is the biggest to hit Indian cricket since the match-fixing saga in 2000.

The affair 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.

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.

He has said: "I am confident truth will prevail in the end."