In the run-up to India’s semifinal match against Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup on Wednesday, the issue of match-fixing was bound to get an airing.But no-one expected Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik to be the one to bring it up.
The involvement of Pakistani players in a “spot-fixing” scandal last year has been a major embarrassment for the cricket-mad nation.
The involvement of Pakistani players in a “spot-fixing” scandal last year has been a major embarrassment for the cricket-mad nation.Former captain Salman Butt and two other players were handed lengthy suspensions in February by the International Cricket Council for accepting bribes from betting syndicates to alter certain periods of play in a match against England.
On Monday, Mr. Malik, who is known for his controversial comments, said the government would be closely scrutinizing play in the match against India in Mohali.
Gambling syndicates, some of the largest based in India, bet huge amounts of money on the outcome of certain overs of play, including how many no-balls are delivered or runs scored. (An over comprises six bowls.)
They try to persuade players to make small changes in play, like bowling a no-ball at a particular time, in return for money. That inside information can reap huge profits for gamblers.
Mr. Khan is part of a group of former cricketers who are campaigning on Indian television around the World Cup for a clean-up of the game. He said spot-fixing was a very difficult thing to detect.
Mr. Khan said bank accounts of players should be opened up to scrutiny. But this seems unlikely for now.
The Pakistani trio was implicated when The News of the World, a British tabloid, caught a 35-year-old British middleman on tape detailing his role in spot-fixing scandals involving the Pakistan team. The paper is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal.
A light was shone into shady cricket betting in 2000 in a scandal similar to the one engulfing Pakistan’s cricket world today.
Both Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin and South African captain Hansie Cronje were later forced to resign for their roles in taking money from betting syndicates in India to fix parts of play.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s top federal investigative body, found in a report on the affair that illegal betting on cricket, organized by syndicates, had boomed after India won the cricket World Cup in 1983. In Pakistan, illegal betting also thrives. Critics of the ban in both countries say legalization would help to stop match fixing.
“I gave them a warning yesterday that there should be no match-fixing,” Mr. Malik told reporters in Pakistan.
It’s unclear what role Mr. Malik plays in running Pakistan’s cricket team, which is overseen by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
His comments were met with scorn by Imran Khan, a Pakistan cricket legend turned politician.
“No one in the Pakistani team will even read that statement. They’ve much better things to do,” Mr. Khan said.
Mr. Khan, an opposition politician, could not resist having a dig at Mr. Malik, a leading member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party who is known for his verbal faux-pas. “My worry is not the cricket team. It’s him,” Mr. Khan said in a television appearance.
Still, spot-fixing has been a major scourge on the game.
