 Gibbs and Boje (right) will hope to be part of Graeme Smith's side |
India's cricket board is to lobby the government to allow South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje to play in the ICC Champions Trophy. The duo were implicated in the 2000 match-fixing controversy and have not visited India since for fear of arrest.
The BCCI hopes to use board president Sharad Pawar's position as minister for agriculture to influence government.
"We are keen to see Boje and Gibbs play. We want the best teams to play," said board secretary Niranjan Shah.
Shah said he received a letter from the International Cricket Council on the matter last week.
"They want to utilise our good offices but this is a police matter and involves legal issues," he added.
The Hansie Cronje affair, centering on match-fixing and illegal betting, rocked the cricketing world six years ago.
Gibbs was banned for six months after he admitted to accepting money, while Boje has always denied any involvement.
The players have twice kept away from tours of India, missing two Tests in 2004 and a five-match one-day series the following year.
South Africa are due to take on New Zealand in their first Champions Trophy match in Mumbai (Bombay) on 16 October.
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