Mumbai: Umpire Amish Saheba, suspended for two IPL matches for comments attributed to him over the Harbhajan Singh-S Sreesanth spat in a Mumbai newspaper, has denied having talked to any reporter on the controversy in his reply to the show cause notice issued to him by the BCCI.

"He (Saheba) has categorically denied giving any kind of interview to the publication in question in his reply to the show-cause notice issued to him by the BCCI," stated Board Secretary Niranjan Shah in a media release today.

"As far as the subject of publication in Mumbai Mirror is concerned, I may state that no person has spoken to me in person and/or telephone, or taken any interview putting up any question to me, whereby I was asked to give any answer as reported in the daily," Saheba has said in his reply.

The umpire has added that a reporter of Ahmedabad Mirror visited his residence on April 28, a day before his comments appeared in the newspaper and its Mumbai counterpart, to take his photograph.

"I was not given to understand that he wants my photograph for any of the report, which ultimately came to be published in Ahmedabad Mirror as well as Mumbai Mirror. I never knew that for this purpose he is taking the photographs. There was no such type of conversation or communication," Saheba said. 
Source : PTI