Durban: United Cricket Board of South Africa is banking on BCCI chief Sharad Pawar to bail out their match-fixing tainted cricketers Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje.

UCB Chief Executive Gerald Majola said he was looking forward to Pawar’s co-operation as far as the cases of the duo with the Indian police was concerned.

“We are working hard behind scenes to assist Gibbs and Boje to be able to tour India. We hope Pawar will assist us,” Majola was quoted as saying in the media on Tuesday.

Majola said he hoped Pawar would be able to convince Indian police to drop the investigation against Gibbs and Boje, who are still wanted for questioning for their alleged role in the match-fixing scandal of 2000.

The fear of arrest has kept the two cricketers away from playing in India since the last six years. The duo skipped two tours ? in November 2004 and November 2005. (PTI)