As the story of spot-fixing gets deeper and dirtier, I am reminded of the seemingly unsullied early 1990s, when mobile phones hadn't yet become indispensable. Those were the days when the business of betting was made to look unintentional.
When the Indian team travelled overseas during this time, rich expat Indians in the countries the team went to would host lavish dinner parties for the players. The world hadn't become the global village it is today, and most young Indian players, with meagre daily allowances, craved home food when abroad. That's when these expatriates came to their rescue. Home cooked dal-roti made players happy and gave their hosts bragging rights for a lifetime.
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