Kamran Akmal was 'Kami' for bookie Majeed
Text messages retrieved from Mazhar Majeed's mobile phone indicate his close ties with Pakistani wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who was nicknamed 'Kami' by the alleged match-fixer.
British tabloid 'The News of the World', which has blown the lid off the betting scam that has led to the suspension of three Pakistani players, came out with more sensational details of the modus operandi of the alleged fixers.
These include messages from Majeed's mobile which are now under investigation by police.
The newspaper has also uncovered new photographs showing the proximity between Majeed and the Pakistan squad. The snaps were taken at an Indian restaurant in Perth, Australia, on January 30, a day after Pakistan were beaten by 135 runs by the Aussies in a one-day international.
The tour was a disaster for Pakistan. Apart from being whitewashed 5-0 in the one-day games, they lost the Test Series 3-0.
The controversial second Test defeat led to close scrutiny of Akmal, who dropped a series of catches.
A match-fixing probe into him was launched on February 26. A day later Majeed was texted from a British number. The message read: "Kamran Akmal has been accused of match fixing."
A month later — on March 5 — another text to Majeed read: "Salam bro pls be careful if you are dealing with any financial matter with Kami I am sure you are aware he and one other player is very much into match fixing alegations."
The messages exchanged between Mazhar and his brother Azhar might now help the police nab players who are involved in the corruption ring that has shaken the core of international cricket.
One text from Azhar to Majeed on March 25 reads: "Let's great f***g hold of cricket and squeeze everything we can from it."
In reply to the text, Majeed said: "Exactly the attitude I wanted from you yesterday."
A blizzard of messages sent to numbers around the world — including America, India, Italy, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates — hold the key to unravelling the scandal.
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