New Delhi: The Sports Ministry's exercise to give the tainted players a chance to defend themselves and their Arjuna awards turned out to be a complete washout on Wednesday with Ajay Jadeja also staying away, following the footsteps of Mohammad Azharuddin and Manoj Prabhakar. Jadeja, who has been slapped with a five-year ban by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the wake of match-fixing scandal, kept the ministry officials waiting as he refused to keep his date with them. Manoj Prabhakar, facing a similar BCCI sentence, was the first to fire a salvo daring the ministry to prove the charges against him before taking away the Arjuna award. Azharuddin, who is facing a life ban, was the second cricketer to defy the ministry by not appearing before it on Tuesday.Taking the cue, Jadeja followed his two senior colleagues. The Sports ministry official said here this afternoon that these three indicted cricketers, were given chance to explain why the awards conferred on them should not be withdrawn. Joint secretary J P Singh who is heading the inquiry on behalf of the ministry however said he received written replies from all three of them. ''I have received written explanations from all three players. Jadeja will not come now,'' He told media persons. He refused to divulge the contents of the letters received from indicted players, claiming that he has not yet read the letters. He refused to reply to a query as what the government now proposes to do. Azharuddin, Prabhakar and Jadeja were conferred Arjuna awards in 1986, 1993 and 1997 respectively. UNI
