Match-fixing: ICC needs to step up before it is too late - Part 1
Just when everybody in the cricket world was thinking that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zulqarnain-Haider-c98685 failed to live up to his commitment of naming the people who were involved in match-fixing, former Sri Lankan captain, Hashan Tillakaratne, exploded another bomb when he claimed
that match-fixing is present in cricket like a cancer since 1992.
Many international cricketers across the globe have been banned or fined because of their involvement in corruption. The list includes former captains Hansie Cronje, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-Butt-c2418. It also contains names like Shane Warne,
Mark Waugh, Ata ur Rehman, Ajay Sharma, Marlon Samuels, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Asif-c1993.
One reason why no more international matches are held in Sharjah today is because of the fact that the venue was considered to be a hub of match-fixing. The ground, at one stage was one of the most popular cricket venues and has hosted a record 198 One Day
Internationals and four Test matches. Cricket authorities and especially, the Board of Control for Cricket in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 (BCCI), were of the opinion that bookmakers had a huge influence in Sharjah.
Although many players from all across the cricketing world have admitted their wrongdoings in the game, somehow corruption in cricket is associated with Asian teams like India, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 and Sri Lanka.
The whole controversy of match-fixing was brought to light by former Pakistan captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Basit-Ali-c47492 in the 1990’s. The duo alleged their team-mates of losing matches deliberately and announced their retirement from international
cricket as a protest against corruption. However, both players took back their decision later on and joined cricket again.
The former wicket-keeper has jumped into this controversy once again and has backed Tillakaratne’s claims of match-fixing in international cricket. Latif said that he knows Tillakaratne personally and the former Sri Lankan captain is a man of his words.
Latif said that the left-hander told him about corruption in the game in the early 90’s. Latif also claimed that Tillakaratne will go on and reveal some of the huge names of Asian cricket, who are involved in match-fixing.
Rashid, added, “I know him personally, he told me about this (match-fixing) in the 1993-94 as well. Nobody knows the subcontinent players better than him and if he reveals the facts then a lot of former cricketers from India, Pakistan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 would
be exposed.”
Cricket boards from Pakistan and India have held independent inquiries against some of their players involved in match-fixing in the past, with a couple of players from each country facing life bans.
After the accidental death of the banned South African cricketer, Hansie Cronje, the International Cricket Council (ICC) took strict actions against match-fixing and developed a separate anti-corruption unit in order to rectify the problem. By 2010, it was
thought that match-fixing has been eliminated from the game because of ICC’s measures.
Cricket fans started to trust their teams once again after ICC’s claims that match-fixing is no more a possibility, as strict steps taken by the anti-corruption had paid-off.
To be continued in part two ....
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