Trio troubles and wasted talent
On August 26 and 27, during Pakistan’s Fourth Test at Lord’s Cricket Ground against England last year, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif allegedly agreed to bowl deliberate no-balls. Britain’s News of the World broke the news, sending shock waves throughout the world of cricket, claiming that then Test captain Salman Butt, together with 18-year-old Amir and Asif were involved in a spot-fixing scandal in association with their agent Mazhar Majeed. The Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has charged the trio with corruption offences. The CPS said in a statement that the suspended trio has been “charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments ...
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An open letter to Ijaz Butt
Dear Butt Saab, I must confess, wholeheartedly enough, that I am a big admirer of the way you’ve run Pakistani cricket. Quite professionally, to the best of my knowledge. Equally, you have done an awful lot for Pakistani cricket, both within the country and the larger international stage. Your tenure as the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, a post you largely acquired by a typical sub-continental virtue of jugaad, is perhaps hailed as the Golden Age of Pakistani cricket, leaving behind mortals like Abdul Hafeez Kardar who did nothing. You have presided over a period in Pakistan cricket, which was full of achievements galore. ...
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When you pay cricketers peanuts, you get monkeys
So the Pakistani cricket team finally returned home last this week. I for one was a tad surprised not to see an angry mob armed with anday tamatar, to say the least. Cricket, as we all know, is the second most popular religion in Pakistan – we watch it, we talk about it, and until reality hits by age 16 – half our population dreams of becoming a pro in it. If you think about it, it’s extremely understandable – the public reaction – the shock and hurt over the latest match fixing allegations and the irritation over Ijaz Butt’s ...
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Where is Mazhar Majeed?
On Sunday August 29, we were introduced to Mazhar Majeed, thanks to the oh so credible British tabloid, News of the World, as they cooked up and ‘revealed’ the story of the Pakistan cricket team’s involvement in spot fixing. Almost a month after allegations that turned Pakistan cricket upside down, Majeed, the main man or the middle man, is nowhere to be found. A realtor, a sponsorship agent some of Pakistan team members, owner of a football club and an alleged bookmaker as well. Impressive credentials, are they not? Yet, made a fool of. After an undercover reporter from a British tabloid allegedly spoiled Majeed’s bid to make millions on the last Pakistan versus ...
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Cricket saga: What a tangled web we weave
The statements are getting increasingly ludicrous, the denials more strident, the twists and turns more and more dizzying, as the precarious house of cards, built on the foundation of mismanagement, nepotism and toadying, by the Pakistan Cricket Board, lurches and collapses around it’s ears. It’s beginning to look like a circus. As the major players jump trapeze-like from one ring to another, attempting to somehow escape unscathed from the bubbling cauldron of corruption and sleaze awaiting them below. The 50,000 pounds sterling unearthed by police in Salman Butt’s room was said to be for his sister’s dowry. Fair enough. But then why ...
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