Sport | Cricket

Scandal players caused Afridi to quit

Former Test captain Shahid Afridi told Pakistan Cricket Board about dodgy agent

  • By Rohan Alvares , Sports Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 September 2, 2010
  • XPRESS

SUSPICIONS:
  • Image Credit: PA
  • Shahid Afridi reported his worries about agent Mazhar Majid to the PCB, but resigned as Test captain when he wasn't taken seriously, according to his manager
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Dubai : A lack of action from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in clamping down on players linked with suspect agent Mazhar Majid was the main factor that led to Shahid Afridi's shock resignation as Test captain and subsequent retirement from the five-day format.

The master-blaster not only raised eyebrows but drew plenty of flak for announcing his decision shortly after Pakistan were comprehensively beaten by Australia in the first Test series in July.

Afridi's manager, Dubai-based Umran Khan, told XPRESS: "It's one of the major factors as to why he basically gave up the Test captaincy.

"Bottom line is he informed the PCB prior to that series of these characters and his suspicions.

"But the PCB didn't seem to be taking his concerns seriously.

"Obviously as skipper you have a serious input into the running of the side. But if none of it is being taken on board, it must give you that feeling of ‘What am I doing here?'

"That was one of the contributing factors to Shahid's decision to not carry on as the Test skipper and actually contributed quite heavily to the decision to quit Test cricket," he added.

Afridi has resumed leadership duties for the two Twenty20 and four 50 over one day internationals. But as the cricketing world looks to recover from the spot-fixing allegations against the trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, Khan who also looks after the commercial interests of six other Pakistani players said it would be unfair to brand the entire team as cheats. "One of the things of paramount importance here is to remember we are talking about a few individual players. So we can't taint the whole Pakistan team with the same brush," said Khan, director of Aces Middle East, the Dubai-based company who manage Afridi as well as Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Fawad Alam, Shahzaib Hasan, Zulqarnain Haider and Yasir Hameed. "People are saying Pakistani cricket is crooked. We are talking about three or four individuals here. We need to keep that in perspective. I represent seven players and categorically these guys are not involved in this kind of rubbish."

Khan believes the only way the sport can be totally free of corruption is if the ICC made it mandatory for agents to be officially recognised.

"The ICC need to clamp down and have a framework in place whereby agents are regulated," he said. "We are not saying players can't associate with people. But they should have one recognised manager who deals with all their stuff.

"And that recognised manager should also be recognised by the PCB or the board. So they know they are not fraternising with people who have got any bad intentions."

Comments (2)

  1. Added 20:58 September 2, 2010

    Sachin Tendulkar is the one and only master-blaster!

    Zekk, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  2. Added 11:44 September 2, 2010

    Match fixing scandals involving the Pakistan cricket team have been an ongoing affair since the last two decades. Between 1986 and 1987, during the Pakistan-India cricket match tour, Qasim Omar was dropped from the team just before the commencement of the series as he had claimed that Imran Khan, the then Pakistani cricket team captain, uses intoxicants on field. Khan, after his retirement, acknowledged that he used to scratch the cricket ball with soft drink bottle caps -- an obvious case of ball tampering. Ball tampering and match fixing allegations were also rampant against Wasim Akram and current Pakistani coach Waqar Yunis. Salim Malik, Inzamamul Haque, Ijaz Ahmad and others were also believed to be involved in this dirty game. The Pakistani cricketers play like champions in one match while the same team members play like minnows the next day. So what’s the secret behind this? It seems that the allegations are not fully baseless. In the Sydney test against Australia, Pakistan came very close to overcoming the Kangaroos. But Michael Hussey played a heroic knock and the credit for his innings was mostly given to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and other fielders for their sloppy fielding. In the end the Pakistani batsmen hammered the last nail in to the coffin. The T20 World Cup semi final was almost a replay of the Sydney test match. The Pakistani players were on the receiving end as Hussey charged. In the ongoing test series, Pakistani batsmen are clueless about the swing and movement of the ball. Before the series against England, the team played two tests and two T20 matches against Australia. They were dismissed below 100 thrice in four tests. In the fourth test, the men in green were on top at one stage, the home team was down the barrel. They were 102 for seven, then Chris Broad and Trott changed the colour of the game. During the 4th test, a sting operation exposed the Pakistani cricketers. The recent performance of the Pakistani team raises the eyebrows of all cricket lovers. These players are definitely not giving 100 per cent to the game. Some are very close to the bookie and hence they are deliberately throwing the game. The Pakistan Cricket Board must ban tainted players. Stern action should be taken against the guilty so that in future such controversies do not occur.

    Wasimul Haque, Delhi, India

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