Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan has declared “innocent” the players who were involved in the PSL scandal, saying the players did not know whether the man they met was their fan or a bookie.

He said this in the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination. The committee met under its chairman Senator Mushahidullah Khan at the Parliament House.

The standing committee chairman, while expressing his resentment, inquired from PBC chairman when the matter was already in his knowledge then why he did not take any step. “You also did not contact the ICC. Why the news items run in media were refuted?” he asked.

He directed the PCB to hold an inquiry into spot fixing scam regarding Pakistani players in the perspective of the ongoing Pakistan Super League matches in Dubai. “If the players are involved then they be punished so that menace of match fixing and spot fixing could be curbed once and for all. If the players are not involved then they be defended.”

The PCB chairman told the standing committee that names of three players have surfaced in match fixing. “Spot fixing and match fixing is not a new thing. This is prevalent in the world. This has become common after T-20 games. Bookies seek access to the players through some other medium. In this case, bookie Yusuf had approached the players through Nasir Jamshed. These meetings came to the knowledge of our anti-corruption unit. Therefore, prompt action was taken and the players were sent home. Players have also admitted their mistake. Irfan was unaware of the real matter. Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan met but they did not inform the security officers about their meeting. A criminal case has been registered against Nasir Jamshed and the bookie in England. The statements of the players will be recorded now. However the tribunal after looking into the matter thoroughly will decide the matter,” the PCB chief said.

The committee chairman said the country had been defamed in the past in this matter. “Had stern action been taken in the past, we could have avoided this day. This scam should be curbed once and for all.”

The meeting was attended by senators Sardar Muhammad Azam Khan Musa Khel, Saud Majid, Rozi Khan Kakar, Chaudhry Tanvir Khan and Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Pirzada, besides the PCB chairman and others.