Islamabad, April 24 (Pak Destiny) The Pakistan Cricket Board has yet to investigate the allegations of Mazhar Majeed, the agent of banned Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, told an undercover reporter that Test matches could be thrown for up to £1 million.
Majeed had also alleged that former Pakistan players, including Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Moin Khan and Ijaz Ahmed, were involved in match-fixing.
The testimony of Mazhar Mahmood, a journalist with the now-defunct News of the World tabloid (now defunct) was as sensational as his sting operation, which exposed the spot-fixing scandal in 2010.
Majeed alleged match-fixing was going on ‘for centuries’ and former captain Wasim, Waqar Younis, Ijaz Ahmed and Moin Khan were involved.
“There is massive, massive money in this,” Majeed was heard to say in the recording played to Southwark Crown Court. Majeed said that for a ‘bracket’ – where bets are made on incidents during a certain period of play – the cost could be between £50,000 and £80,000.
“For a result, Twenty20 is about £400,000 and Test matches, depending on the situation, is about £1 million,” he said.
There has been a big question mark as why the PCB has not yet initiated a formal inquiry into it. Interestingly, the match-fixing hit Indian Premier League and there are reports that bookies have good say in its affairs.
Wasim Akram’s becoming part of KKR of Shah Rukh Khan should be seen in this perspective. Have bookies ensured Akram’s hiring for KKR? – Pak Destiny