Former team manager Sunil Dev denies claiming Mahendra Singh Dhoni fixed Old Trafford Test

Dev said that skipper MS Dhoni chose to bat first in the cloudy conditions because the match was fixed.

New Delhi: Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) secretary and former India team manager Sunil Dev on Sunday denied claiming that the fourth Test between MS Dhoni's side and England, which was played in Manchester in 2014, was fixed.

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“It is all rubbish. I am planning to sue this hindi daily and will seek legal recourse against anyone else who makes such malicious claims,” he told the Times of India.

Earlier, Dev was caught saying these revelations in a sting operation conducted by a Hindi daily newspaper.

Dev said that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chose to bat first in the cloudy conditions because the match was fixed, insisting that his decision came as a surprise to the team management as they had decided to bowl first in a team meeting.

"Given the conditions of the pitch was wet due to long spell of rain, we have decided to bowl first in a team meeting," Dev said in the sting made public on Sunday evening.

"But Dhoni surprised everyone by opting to bat first," he further added.

The 67-year-old, who was the manager of the Indian team in that tour, claimed that he had informed the issue to the then president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) N. Srinivasan, adding that he had appreciated the information but did not feel the need to make it public.

Dev further slammed the BCCI, saying that the India's cricket governing body did not bother about these things as they had not reacted yet on the issue.

The Manchester Test was ended in just three days with India losing the match by an innings and 54 runs against England.

(With ANI inputs)