Praveen Kumar

Lucknow, May 16: Team India player Praveen Kumar was accused of beating up a doctor in his hometown Meerut last night, but the alleged victim decided not to press charges.

That decision by Dr Shantanu Agarwal has probably saved Praveen, a 21-year-old rookie, from career-threatening punishment and Indian cricket from a second scandal in a month after the Harbhajan-Sreesanth slap.

“I am not taking legal action because the nation’s pride is associated with Praveen, as he represented the country in cricket,” Dr Agarwal, 38, said.

He had told police last night that Praveen and his friends had dragged him out of his car and thrashed him after he had accidentally driven over a puddle, splashing muddy water on the cricketer’s shirt.

The doctor had also alleged that Praveen, an all-rounder who had starred during India’s ODI tri-series win in Australia in March, was drunk.

Had Dr Agarwal gone ahead and lodged an FIR this morning, Praveen may have been arrested and given bail, with the possibility of being fined and even jailed if convicted.

The cricket board would have been forced to discipline him for bringing the game into disrepute, especially since a series — the Indian Premier League — is on.

Praveen would almost certainly have faced trouble from the owners of his IPL team, Bangalore Royal Challengers, who are known to be touchy about their image.

After Dr Agarwal’s initial complaint last night, Kotwali police station had asked Praveen, who had come home from Bangalore for a couple of days, to surrender.

But Meerut superintendent of police K.K. Bharadwaj summoned both the player and the doctor this morning and, after an hour’s talks, the matter was sorted out.

“Praveen quickly sensed the gravity of what he had done. He apologised profusely to the doctor and he softened. The doctor did not submit his FIR to the police,” Meerut police chief Aloke Singh told The Telegraph.

“All’s well that ends well. He apologised and saved his career,” Dr Agarwal said.

Praveen had become the “pride” of Meerut, a small town in western Uttar Pradesh, after his Australian heroics.

Around 8pm yesterday, he was walking with friends near Meerut’s main market when Dr Agarwal’s car hit a pothole full of water, splashing slush on the cricketer.

The doctor did not speed off: he parked before a nearby shop to buy some utensils.

He had not realised that Praveen’s friends were chasing the car. He says they shouted abuses at him and began beating him up although he kept pleading he didn’t do it on purpose.

Dr Agarwal says Praveen joined in the beating although the cricketer told police he never touched the doctor.

Praveen refused comment. A member of his family who picked up the phone said: “We don’t want to rake things up by making a statement to the media.”

Twenty years ago, Test cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu was embroiled in a road-rage brawl that led to a man’s death. But the trial court acquitted him within months and he continued to play cricket for the country for another decade.

The acquittal was overturned by a high court recently but the conviction has been stayed as the Supreme Court hears Sidhu’s challenge.