Qadir, Sarfraz want GOVT probe into audio tape conversation between two senior Pakistan officials
Qadir, Sarfraz want GOVT probe into audio tape conversation between two senior Pakistan officials
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A taped conversation between two former Test players, holding senior positions in the Pakistan Cricket Board allegedly indicates that the menace of match-fixing and betting could still be alive in Pakistan cricket.
The audio tape which has been leaked by an unknown person from within the Board has national selector, Mohammad Illyas talking openly with his close friend and PCB Chief Operating Officer, Salim Altaf about how Pakistani players fixed matches in the first season of the Indian Cricket League.
In the audio tape, Altaf asks Illyas about a fight between former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and batsman Imran Farhat (who is the son-in-law of Illyas). Illyas says the fight was serious during the ICL in 2007 and happened because some players were fixing matches.
Illyas says in the conversation which a former Board official has confirmed was taped when former Chairman of the board, Dr Nasim Ashraf had ordered the telephone lines and the office of Altaf to be bugged at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Ashraf was replaced as chairman by Ejaz Butt last October.
Altough Illyas says his voice had been faked on the tape and that he had never said anything about match-fixing to Altaf, the damage has been done to Pakistan cricket. The same Illyas had said earlier, "I was just joking with him (Altaf) as we are old friends."
"This tape coming out just days after some bookmakers approached Pakistani players in Colombo is something the government must hold an inquiry into," former chief selector Abdul Qadir said.
The PCB and the team management in Sri Lanka have ruled out the players' involvement with bookmakers but experts believe a Pandora's box could be opened soon if it is confirmed that the voices on the tape are of Altaf and Illyas.
"The tape indicates the conversation took place sometime in Altaf's office and even if it was a general discussion, it shows some players have still not learnt their lessons from the past," said former Test pacer Sarfraz Nawaz.
Critics have already expressed fears that the organisation of private Twenty20 leagues is a perfect platform for bookmakers to corrupt players and fix matches.
An official in the Ministry of Sports said they would ask the PCB to send a report on the Colombo incident as well as the tape controversy. "It is a serious matter. Even if the ICL is a private and unofficial venture, the accusations are about our players some of whom are still in the Pakistan team," the official noted.
ICL officials were unavailable for comment.
Pakistan cricket was rocked 15 years ago by allegations of match-fixing. Former captain Salim Malik was banned for life and five other players were fined for not co-operating with the tribunal in its inquiry.
Inputs from Bipin Dani
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