Previous Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that during his playing days he was surrounded by match fixers in the national team.
Shoaib Akhtar interview on match fixing
In television show, the former speed star commented that he was playing against “21 players — 11 theirs and 10 ours.”
I was always of the belief that I can never cheat Pakistan, no match-fixing. I was surrounded by match-fixers. I was playing against 22 people (sic) — 11 theirs and 10 ours. Who knows who was the match fixer
“There was so much match fixing. (Mohammad) Asif told me which all matches they had fixed and how they did it,” said on the show.
Cricket in Pakistan ruined heavily back in 2011 after fast bowler Mohammad Amir was banned for five years by the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal along with Mohammad Asif for their role in match-fixing.
Spot fixing scandal August 2010
The spot-fixing scandal in August 2010 during Pakistan’s tour of led to suspensions of the then captain Salman Butt along with Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir. Akhtar lamented the total wastage of greatly talented fast bowlers like Amir and Asif for corruption and also noted that he tried to drag them out of the black zone. “I tried to make Amir and Asif understand.
What a waste of talent. When I heard about this, I was so upset that I punched the wall. Pakistan’s two top bowlers, smart, intelligent and the two perfect fast bowlers were wasted.
They sold themselves for a little money,” the Pakistan bowler said. Mohammad Amir made an impressive return to international cricket after serving the ban and is currently featuring in the limited-overs format for the side. However Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif couldn’t make a comeback.
Shoaib Akhtar Stats
Akhtar played 46 Test matches for Pakistan in which he scalped 178 wickets while in 163 ODIs he had 247 dismissals. In the shortest format of the game, he played 15 T20I in which he bagged 19 wickets.