ICC should take action against the guilty: Sachin Tendulkar

Disappointed at the 'spot-fixing' scandal that has plunged the game into a crisis, senior Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar today said the International Cricket Council should thoroughly investigate the matter and take action against accused players if they are found guilty.

Tendulkar said if the scam, which has come to light after an "expose" by British tabloid 'News of the World', turn out to be true it will bring "disrepute to the game".

"ICC should make a thorough probe in whatever had happened in England and take appropriate action if the players are found guilty. If the allegations are true, they will certainly bring disrepute to the game," Tendulkar said.

"I am no expert and not the one to comment while sitting here in India on something which happened in England. But certainly it has disappointed me," he said when asked his view on the latest crisis to have rocked the game.

The scandal broke out after the British tabloid's sting operation on a bookie, who allegedly paid £150,000 to Pakistani trio of Test skipper Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer for bowling deliberate no balls at predetermined times during last week's Lord's Test against England.

Asked if he had heard of any Indian player being approached by bookmakers, Tendulkar said, "No, in my 21 years of international cricket, I have never heard of any Indian player being approached by bookies".

Tendulkar was speaking at a media interaction at the sidelines of a photo exhibition to celebrate his 21 years in international cricket -- The Sachin Tendulkar Journey -- under the aegis of Royal Bank of Scotland.

According to the organisers, the 21 photographs exhibited to mark the Tendulkar's glorious years is international career was chosen by the champion batsman himself.

"It was very difficult to choose them because there were many memorable moments in my career. It came down to around 30 and then I had to pick 21," he said.

Reflecting on his more than two-decade long career, Tendulkar said the game has changed a lot especially with the advent of Twenty20 cricket.

"Players have become more aggressive in their cricket though not in their on-field behaviour against their opponents. With the advent of Twenty20 players are innovating themselves with lots of innovative shots. It has made the game more exciting," he said.

Tendulkar admitted that because of their aggression at times cricketers indulge in arguments with each other on the field but he his approach was to control himself.

"I am for control aggression, maybe just look at the eye of the bowler or something like that. There is no use that you try to respond and lose your control," he reasoned.