ICL Match Fixing: Pakistani Test Cricketer Involved?

by Owais Ehsan on September 8, 2009

And once again we have the match fixing thing showing its head to the world community. Just read in the newspapapers a few days back that Mohammad Sami was not able to receive his due salary for the ICL matches. Well its clear now that the match fees/salary is stopped due to the involvement of one Pakistani test cricketer (Im not saying it was Sami). Once again needless matches have resulted in match fixing, once again its Indian bookies and once again its a Pakistani cricketer that is accused. A former Test cricketer’s involvement with bookmakers last year has forced the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL) to withhold payments to all its Pakistani players.

Dawn writes

According to an unnamed ICL official: ‘The cricketer fixed the matches through local bookmakers. But the ICL organisers were not immediately available to comment on the recent reports appearing in the media about the matter. Still the player in question was sidelined and dropped from the remaining Twenty20 tournament.

Some newspapers also reported that it was due to the Pakistani player’s involvement with bookmakers that the rest of the tournament’s Pakistani cricketers have been unable to get their payments cleared by the ICL. However, ‘The players are now being assured that their payments would be cleared in a month’s time,’ one paper said.

The ICL is reported to have suffered a heavy financial loss last year, slowing the process of payments to the international players involved. Meanwhile, an International Cricket Council (ICC) official, while requesting to remain anonymous, said that the sport’s governing body had nothing to do with the issue as the ICL was an unsanctioned league anyway.