Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar addressed the infamous 2010 spot-fixing scandal.
Pakistan cricket was rocked with the spot-fixing scandal in 2010, when three of their star players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were convicted of taking bribes from a bookmaker to deliberately underperform in the Lord's Test against England. The trio eventually faced long-term bans from all forms of cricket, in addition to facing jail terms for accepting corrupt payments. Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has now broken silence on the scandal.
Akhtar, in a talk show in Pakistan, addressed the scandal which put Pakistan cricket in turmoil. The Pakistan speedster has always been known for his outspokenness, and he was blunt as he opened up on the scandal.
Akhtar revealed that he was 'surrounded' by match-fixers, and that nobody could be trusted.
"I was always of the belief that I can never cheat Pakistan, no match-fixing. I was surrounded by match-fixers. I was playing against 22 people (sic) -- 11 theirs and 10 ours. Who knows who was the match-fixer. There was so much match-fixing. (Mohammad) Asif told me which all matches they had fixed and how they did it," Akhtar said.
The former pacer also recalled that he had a conversation with Amir and Asif, and that he laments the waste of two 'perfect' fast bowlers in the side.
"I tried to make Amir and Asif understand. What a waste of talent. When I heard about this, I was so upset that I punched the wall. Pakistan's two top bowlers, smart, intelligent and the two perfect fast bowlers were wasted. They sold themselves for a little money," the Pakistan bowler said.
Mohammad Amir made an impressive return to international cricket after serving the ban and is currently a first-team regular in the limited-overs format for the side. Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, however, couldn't make a comeback to the side. Both, however, play in domestic cricket.
