Gautam Gambhir urges authorities to 'go a little soft' on Brendan Taylor

Former India batter Gautam Gambhir urges the ICC to go soft on Brendan Taylor, following his explosive admission that he was blackmailed into fixing international matches.

Gambhir also wanted the players who report corrupt approaches to be given security which would go a long way in protecting the player and his family from any harm.

"Brendan Taylor and his admission of delay in reporting a corrupt approach has caught my conscience and attention. I operate on an absolute zero-tolerance approach when it comes to any wrongdoing," Gambhir wrote in his column for TOI.

"I was reading Taylor's statement with the same emotion - disappointment, disgust and anger. I read it once but it didn't make me angry. I read it again and it was the same. I read it the third time and the emotions were different. Don't get me wrong as I am not supporting Taylor. 

"I am only concerned about the circumstances which forced him, a father of four children fearing for his and his family's lives, to delay reporting the incident to the International Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Unit. 

"Taylor is a sportsperson and not a hard-nosed criminal whose faculties would support him if six individuals barged into his hotel room with a threat to release a video where he was reportedly consuming a banned substance," Gambhir added.

Although Taylor said that there was a delay in reporting the matter to the ICC, he insisted that he did not fix any matches. He now faces a ban from for not reporting the issue to the board earlier.

"Surely these corrupt men are not working in seclusion. More often than not they seem to be part of an organised group. What if someone had tried to physically harm Taylor or his family? Is there a provision to provide security to cricketers who report a corrupt approach but fear for their or their family's well-being? Is there any network which activates their security at local level," Gambhir questioned.

"By Taylor's admission, he didn't succumb to the pressures of corruptors and never did anything wrong. If this is true then perhaps authorities can go a little soft on him. If he is corrupt, then law must take its course," Gambhir opined.