The Pakistan Cricket Board will soon set up an inquiry panel to probe into the spot-fixing scandal that last year led to the ban and jail terms of three players -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir.
Published: Jan 15, 2012, 11:04 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 15, 2012, 11:04 PM (IST)
PCB chief Zaka Ashraf (c) said that the board didn’t want the players mixing with any shady or suspicious characters like Mazhar Majeed
Lahore: Jan 15, 2012
The Pakistan Cricket Board will soon set up an inquiry panel to probe into the spot-fixing scandal that last year led to the ban and jail terms of three players — Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir.
PCB chief Zaka Ashraf has made it clear that the board had not given up on conducting its own inquiry into the spot-fixing scandal.
“We will soon set up the panel because we want to know ourselves what happened and why this scandal took place. We don’t want a repeat of such a shameful episode again,”
Ashraf maintained that the board would take whatever measures necessary to not allow a repeat of the scandal.
“If that means taking very strong action against anyone we will do it and even the players must not feel bad about it.
Because nothing is greater than the image of the country which suffered a lot because of the scandal,” he told the ‘Express’ newspaper today.
Ashraf said that the board didn’t want the players mixing with any shady or suspicious characters like Mazhar Majeed.
“We don’t want another Mazhar Majeed close to our team, that is why the security officer of the team has been given specific instructions to enforce the code of conduct in the series against England in the UAE.”
Asked about the allegations made by bookie Majeed, who has also been jailed with the three players for spot fixing, Ashraf asked how much credence could one give to him.
Ashraf also outlined that the board soon planned to move a resolution for enforcing a system where assets of players are checked at regular intervals.
“There might be some legal complications involved in enforcing this system but we will find a solution to it,” he added.
The PCB chief was also candid on the issue of appointing a new head coach, insisting that the board didn’t need to seek te views of players while taking its decision.
Media reports have suggested that some players in the national team are not happy with plans to appoint Australian Dav Whatmore as the new coach.(PTI)
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