Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has questioned the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s ability of handling corruption in the game, and said that tougher laws were needed to counter the menace.
“The ICC is not making tougher laws and that’s why their role is questionable,” the Age quoted Latif, as saying. “I also doubt the sincerity of cricket boards and the ICC to put a lid on this wrongdoing,” he added.
Latif said that the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) set up by the governing body had also failed to serve the purpose. “These ex-policemen (ACSU officials) may have been very good in their field, but cricket is a different ball game altogether and only a cricketer can see an irregularity during a match,” Latif said.
“(The ACSU) does not have the right to conduct raids or arrest people, what they only do is to ask players to avoid suspicious people. All in all, the unit is toothless, as their recourses are limited,” he added.
He also called for new rules in one-day and Twenty20 cricket to minimise fixing. “In my opinion, power plays in limited-over matches encourage spot-fixing, so there is a need to change the laws. I proposed changes in the rules some years back, but the ICC did not pay attention to them,” he added.