Pak cricketer Mohammad Hafeez slams players involved in match-fixing

Match-fixing, spot-fixing scandals, player-bookie illicit relationships have rocked the cricketing world several times. Pakistan has majorly been rocked by numerous match-fixing scandals in the last two decades. Pakistani star allrounder Mohammad Hafeez featured in Shoaib Akhtar's YouTube channel where he stated that whoever has been involved in such scandals should be barred from getting to play for the country.

“It was my principled decision and is still the same that whoever plays for Pakistan and is unable to uphold the honor of Pakistan should never get a chance to feel that pride [of representing Pakistan] again,” Mohammad Hafeez told Shoaib Akhtar for his YouTube channel.

“Those players are like my brothers and I do pray for them but what they did and besmirched the integrity of Pakistan, I was against that.

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A string of spot-fixing

In September 2010, the ICC suspended three Pakistan players - Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt - on allegations of spot-fixing. They were alleged to have carried out specific on-field actions, during the Lord's Test against England on the instance of a bookie. All the players were then banned by the ICC for terms of between 5 and 10 years. In November 2011, Butt and Asif were found guilty by a London court on criminal charges relating to spot-fixing. From the three, only Amir has managed to make a successful return to international cricket thus far.

Pakistan recalled the left-arm pacer in 2016. Butt, on the other hand, has been doing well in domestic cricket but has not got the chance to play for Pakistan again. Another player Sharjeel Khan, who too was involved in spot-fixing, is also in line to return.

Expressing his apprehension against it, Hafeez said that anyone found guilty of match-fixing should never be allowed to play for Pakistan again.

“I raised my voice in this regard but I was told in reply that they will play for Pakistan and if you wish to play as well, then you decide [what you want to do] and I was like really?So I went home and took advice as I did not want to spend giving my positive energy for Pakistan so I continued along with all those players although that was wrong and I still say that is wrong and will never be fruitful for Pakistan. Bringing back any such player will never be fruitful for Pakistan,” he added.

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