Amir admitted spot-fixing after skipper Afridi slapped him hard: Razzak
Abeda AshrafEditor
Posted - 2019-06-12T20:57:38+06:00
Updated - 2019-06-12T20:57:38+06:00
Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq on exposing some bitter memories of old days, said left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir confessed of being involved in spot-fixing only after being slapped by the then Pakistan ODI skipper Shahid Afridi.
Later Amir, along with fellow pacer Mohammad Asif, was banned by the ICC anti-corruption tribunal back in 2011.
Razzak, while describing the incident as quoted by GNN news channel, said,
"He (Afridi) told me to leave the room but after a while I heard the sound of a slap and then Amir told the whole truth.”
Razzaq, 39, also claimed that another suspended cricketer for spot-fixing Salman Butt was deliberately getting out and playing dot balls much before the scandal broke out in
.
Razzaq recalled he told Butt to take a single and give him the strike but he did not pay heed to his advise.
"I was surprised when he refused this strategy. When I realised what he was up to (something) I told him strictly to give me the strike. Yet every over he deliberately played two or three balls and then gave me strike. I got upset and felt the pressure and got out."
"I shared my concerns with Afridi but he said it is just my Waham (misconception) and nothing is wrong. But when I was batting with Salman Butt during a match of the World T20 in
, I was convinced he was letting down the team," Razzak said.
Razzaq further blamed the PCB for hampering the image of Pakistan cricket in outside world.
"I thought instead of going to the ICC to prove its efficiency, the PCB should have instead directly taken the three players to task despite their denials and sent them back home on some pretext. They should have banned them for a year or so. In the end by not doing this, the PCB spoilt the image of Pakistan cricket worldwide," he said.
Mohammad Amir, now 27, is part of the Pakistan's World Cup 2019 squad.