Calcutta: Mohammed Shami's alleged links with a lady from Pakistan named Alishba and one Mohammed Bhai from England has been much talked about in the recent days as the speedster's wife, Hasin Jahan, has kept unleashing a barrage of allegations.
The controversial saga took a fresh turn on Monday when Alishba, speaking to a news channel, admitted meeting Shami in Dubai. She, however, denied any monetary dealings with Shami, as has been claimed by his wife, and also insisted that she doesn't know any Mohammed Bhai.
"Yes, I met him... I am a frequent flyer to Dubai because my sister lives in Sharjah. As a person, I really like Shami. As any fan who has idolised a celebrity, they always dream of meeting their idol. I had the desire to meet him (Shami) like any other fan would want to, which I don't think is a big deal," Alishba told ABP News.
Alishba claimed that she and Shami are just friends.
"I was a follower on Instagram like thousands of his fans, which is how I became Shami's friend. Just like his other followers, I am a normal fan. I sent him Eid greetings and he replied," she said.
Jahan had alleged that Shami took money from Alishba on the insistence of an England-based businessman Mohammed Bhai. But Alishba denied knowing Mohammad Bhai.
"No, I directly went to my sister's house. However, I visited the hotel next morning at around 9am and had a breakfast with him. I was with him for about an hour, we just chatted," Alishba said.
"I personally don't know Mohammed Bhai and have nothing to do with him and there was no involvement of money transaction between us," Alishba added.
In defence of Shami, Alishba said: "The person who does not even lie to anyone, how he can be disloyal to his country."
The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai had last week instructed the Board of Control for Cricket in India's anti-corruption unit chief Neeraj Kumar to probe the corruption allegations against Shami.
In his letter to Kumar, Rai wrote: "The Committee of Administrators is concerned only with such portion of the said audio recording in which the person who it is claimed is Md. Shami is heard saying another person by the name of 'Mohammed Bhai' had sent money to Md. Shami through a Pakistani lady by the name of 'Alisba'.
"Please investigate the above assertions/ allegations under the BCCI anti-corruption code and submit a report to the Committee of Administrators with your findings as to whether there is any basis to proceed further in terms thereof."
Several non-bailable and bailable sections have been slapped against Shami by the Calcutta Police following Jahan's written complaint.