London, May 21 (ANI): Pakistan’s strikingly below par performance during the Australia tour in January-February is now under the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) anti-corruption unit’s scanner.
Pakistan had lost the Sydney Test by 36-runs despite taking a handsome lead in the first innings, and it is this loss which has caught the the ICC’s attention.
Chairman of the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU) Lord Condon confirmed that investigations were on to probe the alleged involvement of some of the Pakistani cricketers in the scandal.
“That has been an ongoing investigation since the time.It is a match and series that worried us, we spent a lot of time talking to the players and PCB. The challenge is finding where is the solid fact,” Condon said during a press conference here.
“What you have there is a lot of strife within the team and Pakistan politics with rivals camps making allegations. We are satisfied that was a totally dysfunctional tour from a Pakistan point of view. The dysfunctionality in the dressing room led to players not performing well, to maybe players potentially underperforming deliberately,” he added.
Referring to wicket keeper Kamran Akmal’s shoddy show during the Sydney Test, in which he dropped three easy catches and missed a straightforward run out chance, Condon said his performance is particularly being investigated.
“What we are trying to establish is whether that was because rival camps wanted to do down captains or potential captains. Or whether they were doing something more serious, for a financial fix,” The Daily Times quoted Condon, as saying.
Condon, however, pointed that it was difficult to completely eradicate the menace of match fixing.
“My prediction is you will never totally eradicate it from cricket. There will always be that temptation. But we had a cadre of modern players who know the risks and are playing for the right reasons,” he said. (ANI)