Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin was absent for a second day from the inquiry into match fixing allegations brought against five Indian cricketers.

The Indian cricket board has launched an independent inquiry into charges of match fixing levelled against five national players by a federal police agency.

But Azharuddin, one of the five accused, has so far failed to appear as the board's anti-corruption chief, K. Madhavan, began cross-examining players in the southern city of Madras.

The board's anti-corruption chief, K. Madhavan said that unless Azharuddin appeared on the final day of the inquiry, he would be forced to go by his evidence as reported by the Central Bureau of Investigation report.

Only former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar, called along with Azharuddin and batsman Ajay Sharma for the cross-examination, appeared before Madhavan for the closed-door session. Sources said Prabhakar was grilled for five hours.

Madhavan said Prabhakar, who had accused Indian cricket icon Kapil Dev of offering him a bribe to underplay in 1994, had "gone away in a happy frame of mind after being questioned," although the retired Test player was not available for comment.