Saturday, November 5, 2011
SHAHID AFRIDI CLAIMS BANNED TRIO WERE JUST LIKE HIS OWN BROTHERS
Former Pakistani skipper, Shahid Afridi claims that the Men In Green trio, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were just like brothers to him after the convicted men were handed jail sentence by Justice Cook.
In a sad day for cricket, Butt was sentenced for 2 years and six months for his involvement in spot-fixing, while Asif suffered a 1 year jail sentence. Amir, the youngest of the lot faced 6 months in prison after the court failed to offer any leniency in their verdict.
The left-hander ex-skipper, Butt was charged for conspiracy to cheat, accept and obtain corrupt payments, while Asif was jailed on accounts for conspiracy to cheat, after no money was found under his possession when the event took place.
Amir, along with bookie, Mazhar Majeed, who earned the maximum jail sentence of 2 years and 8 months, had pleaded guilty which resulted in a reduced sentence.
Afridi, who played with all three of the banned trios was dejected by the whole incident; however, felt that such verdict was necessary for the sport to remain clean forever. He somewhat blamed the Pakistan Cricket Board for not taking the initiative of defining boundaries for players, while also claimed that the players do not earn as much as they should.
The all-rounder also added that he considered the trio just like his own brothers and claimed that young players are enticed into wrongdoings due to lack of awareness.
"The players were like brothers to me. I have never been approached by a bookie but I know that young players are trapped into it (spot-fixing)," said Afridi.
Earlier, the player announced his conditional retirement from cricket after a public row with former coach, Waqar Younis and ex-chairman, Ijaz Butt. However, with the two men gone from the helm, he made himself available for selection and was immediately recalled for the national team’s forthcoming ODI assignments with Sri Lanka.
Finally the flamboyant star also commented that spot-fixing is not simply associated within Pakistan as such menace is spread throughout the cricketing world. For everyone’s sake, let’s hope that the sport learns from such depressing event.
Majeed tried approaching me too: Afridi
KARACHI: Pakistan's former captain Shahid Afridi has claimed that jailed bookie Mazhar Majeed tried approaching him several times but he kept the players' agent at arm's length as he suspected him of being involved in betting.
Former Test captain Salman Butt and pacersMohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer have been sentenced to jail in UK after being found guilty of conspiring with Majeed to fix parts of a Test match last year.
Afridi said Majeed tried getting friendly with him too but he ignored the London-based agent.
"He always tried to contact me personally in the hotel and wanted time to meet me. His brother Azhar also wanted to meet me. But I avoided them all the time because I had my suspicions that they were not trustworthy and involved in betting," Afridi said.
Afridi also rebutted Majeed's claim that some Pakistani players were willing to throw matches to undermine his position as captain.
"I never felt that any player was doing something wrong and deliberately trying to let me down."
Speaking on spot-fixing scam that has shamed Pakistan cricket, Afridi said he feels sorry for the 19-year-old Aamer.
"He is a great talent and I believe because of his age he was trapped into this scandal," he said.
Afridi accused former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt of disrespecting and humiliating players.
"Ijaz Butt didn't finish players power he humiliated the players," Afridi said on a talk show on the "Express" news channel.
The all-rounder said his differences with Butt developed because of the way he treated players.
"I won the ODI series in New Zealand and West Indies and we reached semi final of the World Cup and yet I was removed as captain by him without any justification. That is the way he treated the players which was unacceptable to me," he said.
Afridi, who is set to make a comeback in the coming ODI series against Sri Lanka in the UAE after taking back his retirement decision, said Butt didn't know how to respect players.
Afridi had announced his retirement in protest in late May after Butt removed him as captain after the West Indies tour.
Afridi claimed that Butt had also mistreated former coach Waqar Younis, who stepped down as coach after the Zimbabwe tour in September citing personal and health reasons.
"I don't think Waqar had any health problems he was removed by Butt. If he (Waqar) had health problems than how is he doing commentary in the series against Sri Lanka."
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