‘Yasir unreliable, mentally 15’

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Cardiff, Sept. 6: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Monday blasted Yasir Hameed as being mentally a teenager but the batsman insisted he was duped by a newspaper over betting scam claims which eclipsed the team’s defeat to England.

One-day skipper Afridi tore into Test batsman Hameed, who claimed he had done nothing more than repeat the allegations of “spot-fixing” being faced by three Pakistan players.

The row overshadowed Pakistan’s first international game since the scandal rocking the sport first erupted.

They were beaten by five wickets Sunday in the first of two Twenty20 fixtures against England at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

Afridi said he was trying to lift his side’s spirits ahead of Tuesday’s second T20, and vowed to play his part in cleaning up Pakistan’s reputation. “We all know we’ve got to get to the bottom of this and we’ll do anything as players, or management, commentators, umpires to eradicate this from the game. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

Following the T20 defeat in the Welsh capital, Afridi said what he thought of 32-year-old Hameed. “Mentally he is 15, 16,” he said.

“We have known him for a long time and we can expect anything from him. He has been doing these type of things a lot of times.”

Asked if Hameed was unreliable, he replied: “Yeah, the people know which type of character he is.”

Hameed released an affidavit, read by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s lawyer outside the country’s high commission in London.

Pic Caption:
Pakistan’s Fawad Alam (from left), Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi watch the proceedings during the first T20 against England in Cardiff on Sunday.