Published>Sun, Sep 05 10 10:07 PM
London/New Delhi, Sept 5 (IANS) The match fixing scandal took a new turn Sunday as the names of a fourth Pakistani cricketer and a top Sri Lankan player emerged, who are now reportedly suspected of match-fixing.
BBC reported that wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has been contacted in writing by the ICC, though there is no suggestion that he is the fourth player and it is not in relation to incidents in the recent fourth Test at Lord's.
Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer have already been suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after it was revealed in a sting operation conducted by The News of the World that they were involved in a spot-fixing scandal.
Close on the heels of the spot-fixing row involving Pakistanis, a leading Sri Lankan player is also under ICC scanner after his colleagues reported his proximity with a man they believe is an illegal bookie.
'ICC's anti corruption unit has been monitoring the activities of a leading Sri Lanka player since the World Twenty20 in England last year after teammates became increasingly unsettled by his late night fraternising with a man they believed to be an illegal bookmaker. They passed on their concerns to the captain, Kumar Sangakkara, who followed ICC protocol by contacting the anti-corruption unit,' The Guardian reported Sunday.
The player has since been investigated by the Sri Lankan police but no charges have been laid.
The ICC, however, refused to comment on ongoing investigations.
'We are making no comment regarding the suggestion that the ICC is probing a fourth player. We do not comment on ongoing investigations, we will not revealing any details about the charges (faced by Butt, Asif and Amir),' added the ICC spokesman after the News of the World reported that the three men were facing a total of 23 charges.
The Metropolitan Police said it is not investigating a fourth player.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has revealed that none of the trio have been interviewed by his organisation after police warned doing so could prejudice the criminal investigation.
Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan also changed his tone and said that the three cricketers accused of spot-fixing should receive life bans if found guilty.
'If the News of the World evidence is correct, then I would banish them from cricket,' Hasan was quoted as saying by BBC Radio 5 live.
Hasan's comments come a day after he criticised the ICC for violating the general principle of 'innocent till proven guilty' by suspending the trio even when the investigations are on.
Hasan insisted the trio are 'innocent until proven guilty'.
'That was my stance from day one and I still maintain it. We questioned them and all my colleagues that talked to them said that, yes, apparently they are innocent. But we're not police investigators - it's up to the police to find out if they're guilty,' he told 5 live's Sportsweek.
Lorgat said that ICC action would be 'prompt and decisive'.
'If people are found guilty, the consequences will be severe,' Lorgan added. 'The maximum sentence is a life ban but I don't want to prejudge any guilt or any sanction.
Lorgat admitted, however, that in 18-year-old Amir's case, age could be a mitigating factor, if he is found guilty.
'If I'm giving my own personal view, age could come into account, But an independent tribunal will have to decide on that.'
ICC president Sharad Pawar said Sunday that tainted Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Aamer, have not been punished by the world body for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing and they will be given a chance to present their case.
'We have not punished anybody yet. Under the ICC anti-corruption rules suspected players needed to be notified and an investigation needed to be conducted. We have to send a notice to that particular player but that notice is not a final decision. It is a means of giving him (player) an opportunity to explain his position,' Pawar was quoted as saying by Times Now.
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