Former Pakistan cricketer Saleem Pervez dies in road accident

By Press Trust of India Last Published on - April 24, 2013 10:34 PM IST

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Saleem Pervez played only one ODI for Pakistan © Getty Images (Representation photo)

Karachi: Apr 24, 2013 

Former Pakistan international Saleem Pervez, who came into the limelight during the Justice (Retd) Qayyum inquiry into match fixing in the 90s, died today after being severely injured in a road accident.

He was 65 year old.

Nadir Khan a close friend of Pervez, fondly known as Payjee, said he had died after suffering fatal injuries in a road accident.

“He was hit by a truck while riding a motorcycle last Sunday and didn’t recover after going into a coma,” he said.

Pervez, a hard hitting opener became infamous when he emerged as one of the main links for Pakistan’s former captain, Salim Malik during the match fixing inquiry.

Statements made during the Qayyum inquiry hearings said that Pervez used to act as a go between and accept cash on behalf of Malik from bookmakers.

Pervez told the inquiry that he had once paid out USD 100,000 to Malik and Mushtaq Ahmed in Colombo during a 1994 one-day tournament to fix a match.

While the Qayyum inquiry later banned Malik for life for his role in match fixing five other players including Mushtaq were let off with fines and warnings as the commission could not find enough evidence against them.

The late opener despite being a prolific scorer in domestic cricket, only played a single One-Day International against the West Indies at Karachi in 1980.