Islamabad, March 15: A Pakistani parliamentary body on sports on Monday said some members of the Pakistan cricket team were involved in match-fixing. “Some cricketers were involved in match-fixing during the last tour of Australia,” Senator
Ghaffar Qureshi, who heads the three-member Senate sub-committee on sports, told reporters in Lahore.
The committee, headed by Ghaffar Qureshi and including Mr Tahir Mashadhi and Mr Haroon Akhtar, made the stunning disclosure in front of the media after a meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board officials in which the performance of the Pakistan team in Australia was also discussed.
“The sub-committee was briefed on the tour with documents, and there are verbal and video... solid proof that one or more players could be involved in match-fixing,” Mr Ghaffar Qureshi said.
Senator Tahir Mashadhi said, “The PCB has done good work on the investigation over the issue and it deserves credit for providing all information.” But the members were of the view that more time was required for further investigation as some non-cricketers could also be involved.
“Till the completion of the entire investigation it is not appropriate to disclose the names of any players,” he added. He said it was not necessary that the players were involved in match-fixing to earn money and added that they used different methods.
Explaining match-fixing methods, Mr Mashadhi said that according to the “proof”, there were different methods of match-fixing, but it was not necessary to determine that they were used just to earn money. “There are indications towards something wrong as when a player who is quite capable of scoring 50 runs scored just 10, dropped easy catches and played unnecessary lofted shots,” Senator Mashadhi said.
Asked if any such player was included in the recently announced Pakistan T20 World team, the senator said, “We have recommended to the PCB authorities not to select some players in the team.” He refused to name the players.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the PCB said the Pakistan team manager for the recent series against Australia and New Zealand has pushed for heavy sanctions against players after detailing a spate of disciplinary problems and bickering in the team.
Shafqat Ali
