Mon, Sep 06 10 08:07 PM
Karachi, Sep 6 (PTI) Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Zahid feels there are more Pakistani players indulging in such fixing activities and they need to be investigated by the ICC anti-corruption and security unit. "They are more rotten eggs in the Pakistan cricket set-up and these rotten eggs need to be fully investigated by the cricketing authorities," Zahid said on the pakpassion.net website. Zahid, who is rated as the fastest bowler ever to play for Pakistan but could manage just 5 Test and 11 one-day appearances due to injury problems, said that although at the moment three players and a fourth unnamed player were under investigation, they were others who should also be investigated. Zahid who is currently playing league cricket in England said that he wasn''t surprised by the three names that have come out. "I wasn''t surprised when the three names came out. Salman Butt was a decent guy. I trained with him quite a lot in his early days and I was very impressed with his attitude, but it seems that perhaps he has been mixing with the wrong crowd if the allegations are to be believed. "The players want to make quick and big money. I think they will have instigated any dealings with a bookie. I don''t think the ICC should be at all lenient with the players, irrespective of age and experience. "If any of the players have been involved in this wrongdoing, then they should get a life ban. The ICC needs to set a precedent and ensure that their punishment is a lesson for young players to not to get involved in such activities," he said. Zahid said he is shocked that the issue of spot-fixing has come to the fore only now. "Match fixing has been going on in the game for a very long time. It''s not just been a Pakistani problem but an international one, and the authorities should really have looked into the problem a lot earlier," he added. "Spot fixing is a more recent invention after match fixing became more difficult to instigate, but I think that match fixing was prevalent in Pakistani cricket circles more so in the 90s," he stated. Zahid blamed greed was the only reason for the Pakistani cricketers to allegedly get themselves involved in fixing. "The sort of money they would make from corrupt practices in one year they will get from ten years of their contract with the board," he said. He also felt the board should have done more with the Justice (retd) Qayyum report. "The Qayyum report was literally brushed under the carpet. Had some of the recommendations made in that report been implemented I''m sure that Pakistan cricket would not be in the mess that it finds itself in," he said.
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