Where does the match-fixing scandal go from here?
Pakistan has been embroiled in match-fixing and spot-fixing controversy in England after the Lord’s Test match. The question that everyone is asking is how the whole thing proceeds forward. Here are a few possibilities and questions that have emerged from the whole jamboree.
Tour not to be called off:
That is a decision that was taken by the ICC earlier today. However, what will be interesting is that if the tour does not get called off and these players remain a part of the side, would it not seem like a farce, especially given that the allegations are of very serious nature and not without proof? The flip to that is that if the tour gets cancelled, it will be a huge financial loss to the ECB and in turn to the PCB as well.
Tour goes on, some players called back:
This is a possibility that the ICC has not discussed so far. Or at least, if it has been discussed, it has not been brought out in front of the fans. However, another option that the ICC did have is for the tour to continue but recall back some of the players who were named in the allegation. This could act as a temporary balm to those who feel that the time has come for the ICC to sit up and show some spine, but the fact that remains is that there are many who consider this incident to be the tip of the iceberg.
Dissolve the PCB?
Now, this is an option that the opposition in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 has been demanding for some time. In fact, even before these allegations of match-fixing came around, there was a demand from the Karachi cricket club for the PCB members to be replaced for a totally unrelated reason, and now the heat is totally on the board to justify their standing. By banning some of the Pakistani cricketers and allowing them back after the tour of Australia, the PCB had managed to gather enough detractors who called them a weak body. Now, will they pay for that mistake or will they be allowed to get away again?
Most importantly, even if the PCB is dissolved, who will replace the current members?
What does the ACSU do?
ACSU stands for Anti Corruption and Security Unit. It must be said that not too many questions have been asked of the ACSU, but it will be fair to say that they have been clearly out of their league. The ACSU had given the Sydney Test match of 2010 between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and Pakistan a clean chit despite all the muck that was being thrown about, and now, it has been alleged that the match was fixed. If that is really the case, then, the question is what can the ACSU do now? Is it capable enough to dig deep and dig out the skeletons from the closet? Even if they are, do they want to do so?
And then there is the Scotland Yard:
There is a sense of relief in certain quarters, that this incident occurred in England and not in Pakistan. Because, one can almost be rest assured that if the sting operation had been carried out in Pakistan, it would have been swept under the carpet – if the past is anything to go by. Instead, the matter has now been taken up by the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Scotland-c756 Yard police and they have confiscated the mobile phones of those involved.
Investigations like these do take their time, but one hopes that the Scotland Yard police can get to the bottom of the issue and quickly.
The bigger question after that is if they will then jail those who may be found responsible. Will the ICC allow such a thing to happen? What about the PCB? Will there be a government intervention? Will players like Mohammad Asif escape punishment because of their inexperience and age?
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