'Won't be able to trust anyone' - Trivedi

Siddharth Trivedi, who was suspended for a year by the BCCI for not reporting an approach by a bookie among other things, has said even though he doesn't agree with the board's disciplinary committee decision, he has no plans to appeal against it. Trivedi said he was as shocked as anyone else once the details of Ajit Chandila's alleged links with the bookies, some of whom he met as Chandila's relatives, surfaced.

"I've presented my case before the disciplinary committee," Trivedi told the Mumbai Mirror. "They thought it right to punish me. I don't agree with them but I respect their decision. My case was not about this year; it was about last year. I was introduced to strangers not as bookies but as cousins and relatives.

"I just said hello to them, nothing more. It was not during the IPL and there was no ACSU then. So whom to report at that stage was a question. If it was during the IPL, I would have reported to the ACSU."

Trivedi said he thought of Chandila as a "trusted teammate" and added that it would be "difficult for me to trust anyone from now". "Ajit and me go a long way," he said. "We've played six-seven years for Air India. Staying together and travelling together, you develop a little trust on your teammate. It cannot be my fault that someone introduced to me as his relative turned out to be an alleged person six months later. "

Trivedi was also charged for "receiving payment or gift for the possibility of bringing cricket into disrepute" from Chandila, which he said was misinterpreted. "That is a long story and has nothing to do with the IPL. I invited him to play in my dad's tournament in Ahmedabad and he gave me money for his hotel accommodation and other expenses. He did not want to take any obligation from my father. That was interpreted in a different way. "

Trivedi was part of the Rajasthan Royals squad for the Champions League, but the suspension means he won't be able to take part in any BCCI-organised cricket for the next one year. He said he was disappointed for missing out on cricket, but he had no option but to remain focused.

"At 30, I'm struggling to make it to the highest level and missing out on 12 months of cricket is a big loss," he said. "More than IPL, I will miss other forms of domestic cricket in which I've been performing consistently for the last 13 years.

"I'll treat this as a miss due to an injury. I'll keep myself fit and focused."