 Former Pakistan wicket-keeper, Zulqarnain Haider, who ran away to England before the start of a game for the fear of his safety said that there were many other cricketers involved in the Pakistani cricket who had been involved with fixing. He claimed that the three players, Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and
Muhammad Aamer were only a small number and their arrest was a tip of the
iceberg.
According to Haider, the cricketers were not been arrested because of some
of the lacklustre investigation. Haider currently resides in the UK, hoping
to get his request for the asylum granted after claims that he has been threatened
back home.
Haider claimed that it was a surprise to hear the ICC CEO, Haroon Lorgat say
that the 2011 edition of the World Cup would be free of any fixing-taint
given that the trio were only a small number of cricketers who were involved
in illegal activities.
He said that Pakistan was not the only country involved in fixing of any kind
and that there were many others who were a part as well.
The PCB had launched a probe against the wicket-keeper's running away from
the side and found that the stumper was not only temperamental but also unstable
and said that they could not decipher the reasons.
Haider said that by arresting the three cricketers, they had made the others
involved even more careful about the issue and that will mean that they will
be watching around and making it difficult for the custodians of the game.
Haider said that he quit the game that he loved because of the issues associated
with match-fixing and he would love to be a part of the team that helps in cleaning
the sport of the current mess.
He also claimed that the three players were caught because of an investigation
by a tabloid and it wasn't a work of the ACSU. The News of the World had received
some information about the fixing syndicate and had gone on to allow ICC to
come into the fray later.
He added that apart from international cricket, the domestic tournaments like
the Indian Premier League also needed to be verified for such illegal activities.
Earlier, the trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were
banned from international cricket for five years because of their involvement
in a spot-fixing scandal unearthed by the NOTW newspaper in UK.
|
