Former Pakistan Captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rashid-Latif-c84084’s Stunning Revelations on Match-Fixing
The man widely regarded as the whistle blower in the match-fixing controversies has made some startling revelations that are set to send more shock waves in international cricket.
Former Pakistan captain and wicket-keeper Rashid Latif, renowned for his candid talk, came out all guns blazing in a special interview televised on DAWN NEWS TV claiming that match and spot-fixing was part and parcel of the modern game and the surfeit of money was integral to the survival of the game all over the world.
The former wicketkeeper-batsman claimed that he had approached the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the International Cricket Council many years ago and made certain recommendations to the Body which would have helped in curtailing the menace; yet to his surprise, no concrete action was taken.
He added that he gradually realised that the ICC was not too keen on fixing the match-fixing disease and an in-depth study of the matter made him sure of his concerns.
Rashid reportedly revealed that players from all over the world are involved in illegal betting, spot and match-fixing and they have the backing of the ICC.
Rashid opined that the ICC has always asked the players to stay aware of the threats around them, yet have not actually asked them to refrain from playing their part in the “dirty game”.
He added that betting was rife all around the world and helps in generating millions of dollars for the governing body of the game as well as its member boards.
The Karachi-born keeper, who retired from first-class cricket in 2006, added that a culprit is the one who is caught, hence the suspended Pakistani trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif are likely to get away with token punishments only, as the ICC cannot come down hard on corruption which was the way in cricket.
The outspoken Latif felt that the trio were trapped by the reporter from The News of the World’s Mazher Mahmood.
He added that even the so-called bookie http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mazhar-c75448 Majeed is a party to this plot and must have been paid millions of pounds by the tabloid to help corner the three.
Rashid, who had twice been hired as wicket-keeping coach on short stints by the Pakistan Cricket Board since his retirement, revealed that a sum of 4-500,000 pounds was the bare minimum for fixing a session of a Test match, and the cost of fixing an entire Test runs into the millions.
He stressed further that match-fixing has been rife in cricket ever since the sport has become a high-profile one in recent years and can be bracketed amongst the globally popular sports like football, horseracing and motor sports, where the stakes are incredibly high as is the interest of the viewing public.
Rashid concluded that cricket should be watched like a movie or a TV drama and ideally, fans should not invest their emotions in the game, as most of the matches are scripted. He added that a classic example of this was the two wins by the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team in the Test tour of England.
According to Rashid, the tourists succeeded in beating http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 for the first time in fifteen years at Headingley after the opposing captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat in overcast conditions, and Andrew Strauss similarly helped the Pakistanis at the Oval by making the wrong decision to bat first.
While Rashid’s statements might be seen by many as outlandish and farfetched, one thing that cannot be ignored is his comprehension of the match and spot-fixing phenomenon, as he was the one who warned the ICC of the ailment many years ago. Meanwhile, cricket fans across the globe await the governing body’s respond to his latest disclosure.
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