Karachi/London, Aug. 30: Pakistan’s cricket tour of Engalnd turned out to be a major money spinner for the bookies, according to reports.
According to a report in the Daily Mirror tabloid, match-fixing crooks have so far earned at least £20 million during Pakistan’s tour, which also involved a Test series against Australia.
“And the cut to players involved in the alleged scam could be around £6 million,” a police source told the tabloid.
“There are huge amounts of money involved. A well-organised gang could easily have bagged tens of millions in a world-wide gambling operation,” the tabloid quoted an expert as saying.
Meanwhile, Scotland Yard was examining the mobile phones of several Pakistan cricketers confiscated during a raid from their hotel rooms after allegations of spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test had surfaced on Sunday.
Pakistan team’s bus was pelted with tomatoes and booed by their own supporters as they left Lord’s on Sunday, hours after four players were questioned by Scotland Yard sleuths in connection to the ‘spot-fixing’ allegations.
PCB may send accused players home
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt and the team management in England will take a call on Tuesday on whether to send the accused players home and to fly in replacements for them.
Well-placed sources said that the captain for the forthcoming one-day series in England, Shahid Afridi would be meeting Butt and manager Yawar Saeed on Tuesday to discuss the situation.
“Obviously there is plenty of tension in the team and an air of uncertainty. There is a feeling of being betrayed among the players who are not among those accused of wrong doing in the series,” a source disclosed.