Hyderabad, Nov 23: Giving a new twist to the bribery scandal, Hyderabad all-rounder and former India 'A' player Vanka Prathap has accused the selectors of asking for money in exchange for a place in the India 'A' cricket team. Prathap alleged that a mediator had approached him and asked him to pay money for a place in the India 'A' team.

"These things are common and everyone knows," he said refusing to name either the person who approached him or the selector and also claiming that he was picked on merit. "Someone approached me on behalf of the selectors. I would not like to name the selector but everybody in Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) knows who he is," Prathap said.

Vanka also cited the example of Noel David, the Hyderabad off-spinner who was picked ahead of veteran Kanwaljit Singh in the indian Team for the 1996-97 tour of West Indies.

"The selection of noel raised eyebrows. Noel was not even sure of a place in the India 'A' team but he was picked for the Indian team," Prathap said. "In the national team is always happening. When performance is overlooked, belief sets in that something is wrong," said the cricketer who has played 83 first-class matches scoring 3957 runs at an average of 36.30 with 136 being his highest score. He also scored six centuries and 27 half-centuries in his ten-year-career.

Forced on the backfoot after Prathap's outburst, the HCA said today it would convene an emergency meeting in the next two days to take stock of the situation. Bureau Report