Pakistan High commissioner says it may be a conspiracy against Pakistan players
According to the High commissioner of Pakistan in England, the spot fixing allegation against Pakistan players may be a conspiracy. Wajid Shamsul Hasan while talking to BBC said that until the facts are scrutinised no decision can be reached.
The three players under investigation are Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir, the trio is not with the team and are in London to help in the investigations.
The High commissioner said that ‘News of the world ‘, the newspaper that broke the story may be behind the setup. It is believed that the video and audio evidence provided by the newspaper are being treated as authentic by police.
However Mr.http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990 said that there is no proof that the videos and audio tapes are authentic, he said that there is no way to prove that the footage and audio were recorded before or after the no balls. He said that as there is no timeline or date on the footage it cannot be treated as clear evidence.
News of the world refused to comment on the statements of the High commissioner, and said that they are ludicrous allegations.
Looking back at the incident, it was on August 29th that News of the world revealed to the police and media that some of the Pakistan players had cheated in the Lord’s test match. A 35 year old man was arrested on basis of suspicion, cited as the middle man between players and bookmakers. The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Scotland-c756 yard Police interrogated Pakistan players and recorded their statements. Muhammad Amir, Muhammad Asif, Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal were the players named.
The following day http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mazhar-c75448 Majeed was confirmed as the man arrested. On 30th of August, the Pakistan team travelled from London to Taunton for the warm up game against Somerset, while Pakistan fans threw eggs and protested against the team in front of the team bus.
On August 31st, the International cricket Council confirmed that wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was no longer part of the investigation. Later there were 3 more arrests made by the police on basis of suspicion. The next day, on September 1st, Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir headed to London for investigation.
On 2nd of September, the Pakistan team manager, Yawar Saeed, confirmed that the three players under investigation will not be part of Pakistan team in the T20’s and One Day matches. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman maintained that no suspension or ban has been handed to the players, rather they were sidelined on their own consensus. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128 said that since the investigation is being carried on in London and the warm up game is in Somerset, the players would not be prepared and also are not in a proper mental state to play that is why they have been withdrawn.
ICC chief, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haroon-Lorgat-c61719 had earlier said that all players are innocent until proven guilty, and ICC will not comment on the incident till the investigation is completed. He further said that ICC would prefer that the players under investigation are not selected for the rest of the tour, but had not made any recommendations to PCB.
Pakistan’s sports minister Aijaz Jhakrani also said that none of the players should be considered guilty until the investigation is completed. He said that if the claims are proven to be false Pakistan government will take legal action against News of the world. He said that it is not just a matter of 3 cricketers but a matter of the pride of the nation and they will make sure that no stone is left unturned in the investigation.
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