Shoaib Akhtar unhappy with BBC for terming Mohammad Aamer as ‘spot-fixer’

Pakistan’s former pacer, Shoaib Akhtar expressed his unhappiness with BBC for referring the term ‘spot-fixer’ for Mohammad Aamer during their first tour game against Somerset, prior to the Test series against England. He termed the treatment of Aamer by BBC was not pleasing and they have taken it to another level by continuously tagging the term ‘spot-fixer’ with him. According to the Rawalpindi Express, Aamer has served his ban and everyone should move on from that fact. He further suggested the media to not ridicule Aamer as he has deservingly gone through a harsh time and now should be given his space.  ALSO READ:PAK draw tour game vs SOM

According to ABP News, Akhtar termed media as an important stakeholder who should help Aamer move on rather than dumping him in the darkness of his forgetful past. He said, “I know the counter claim to that will be that Aamer has drawn this fate upon himself and he will have to live his stigma all his life. But the idea was to kill the sin and not the sinner. May be these are pressure tactics from England who feel that Aamer can be thorn in their flesh. English are known to do this, so I won’t be surprised if that is the case.”

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He also spoke on the spat between Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri and said that it should have been avoided. He stated, “Seeing two former captains having a go at each other in public is not ideal. I hope we have seen the last of it and need to move on.” ALSO READ:Azhar Ali scores century in Day 3 of PAK’s tour game against SOM

The much-talked about Test series between England and Pakistan starts from July 14 at Lord’s cricket ground.  Akhtar hinted at more controversies in the lead up to the Test series. Akhtar had word of caution for his national side and said, “They should focus on the job at hand and care about the scorelines rather than the headlines.”

In conclusion, he applauded Anil Kumble’s team-bonding exercise ahead of the Test series against West Indies. “I think it was a smart move to get MS Dhoni and selectors in the meeting as well as that means Kumble believes in inclusive progress. He is not categorising players and he wants every important stakeholder to have a say and be a part of this journey. By doing this he is not only creating a healthy atmosphere in setup led by dual captains but also silencing any disgruntled voices, if any. This surely is a good start to what looks to be a promising tenure for Anil Kumble”, replied the outspoken cricketer from Pakistan.