M A I N   N E W S

Special to The Tribune
Pak raises stake, points finger at India
Shyam Bhatia in London

ICC suspends tainted trio For the first time in its history, ICC on Friday suspended Pakistan's Test captain Salman Butt and his two teammates accused of 'spot-fixing'. Five days after the scandal rocked the world of cricket, the ICC finally cracked the whip by suspending the tainted trio of Test captain Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir but declined to specify the charges brought against them. Action premature, unnecessary: Pak envoy Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London says the “unhelpful, premature and unnecessary” action by the ICC to suspend 3 Pak cricketers was influenced by a telephone call from ICC President Sharad Pawar. Take action against guilty: Sachin Disappointed at the spot-fixing scandal that has plunged the game into a crisis, Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar today said the International Cricket Council (ICC) should thoroughly investigate the matter and take action against accused players if found guilty.

Pakistan has raised the stakes in the cricket scam being investigated by Scotland Yard in London, as well as by national and international cricket authorities, by pointing the finger of blame at India.

By naming and effectively blaming India’s Sharad Pawar “from India” for the International Cricket Council (ICC) decision to suspend three Pakistani test cricketers, Islamabad risks wider damage to political and diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan.

According to Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the “unhelpful, premature and unnecessary” by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to suspend three Pakistani test cricketers was influenced by a telephone call from ICC President Sharad Pawar in India.

Recalling his interaction with ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat who came to see him last Thursday, Hasan said in an interview with BBC Radio’s Today programme, “In the afternoon at about 5.30 l had a meeting with the ICC chief executive Mr Haroon Rogart and, while he was sympathetic to what has happened, he said that in order to eliminate corruption from cricket, the ICC would have to act. But in this case he said he was satisfied that the Scotland Yard and British police were proceeding according to law and investigating the matter. They will just issue notices for explanation and not go beyond that.

“When Mr Lorgat came to see me, he was very sympathetic and very supportive. He said that Pakistan is liked in South Africa, Pakistani cricketers are liked in South Africa, blah, blah, blah.

“Let me get to the point”, Hasan continued. “Then all of a sudden he gets a call from Mr Sharad Pawar, who is the ICC chairman, from India and he talks to him something. Then Mr Rogart goes out, and you know the the person who has no documents prepares a document of five pages and probably 8 point font and pushes this under the door mat of the hotel rooms…”

Asked by an astonished radio interviewer if the issue was India and Pakistan’s mutual hatred, Hasan appeared to temporarily retreat. “This is not hatred, we have no such hatred”, Hasan replied before returning to his Indian theme.”

“But there are conspirators. You know for example Indian bookies were involved in this. This man Majeed (match fixer Mazhar Majeed) he was an agent for these cricketers,he was providing them with a professional service, maybe he was ripping them off. But the fact that he was working for the Indian, Bombay bookies, that is where he is supposed to have breached some contract.”

Pakistan has been severely embarrassed by Scotland Yard’s decision to question cricket captain Salman Butt and fellow players Mohammed Arif and Mohammed Amir over allegations of corruption.

But the additional embarrassment of having the three men charged under the ICC's anti-corruption code and suspended from all matches is too much for the Pakistani authorities to bear. Hence the lashing out at anyone, India in particular, that has resulted.

“They (the ICC) have done the wrong thing because when there is a live police inquiry being made, this takes precedence over both the ICC, civil or regulatory investigation and indeed any internal disciplinary investigation”, Hasan elaborated in his radio interview. “To take action now of course is unhelpful, premature and unnecessary, considering the layers had already voluntarily withdrawn from playing - which was announced early in the morning in the presence of the entire British media.”

He went on, “The fact is that the ICC made a mistake when it gave an assurance to us that nothing will be done until and unless the Scotland Yard and the British Metropolitan Police complete their investigation because there investigation cannot be preceded by any other investigation - listen, even Pakistan cricket control board cannot take any disciplinary action against Pakistani cricket team..”

Asked if it was reasonable to suspend the players while the investigation was being carried out, Hasan responded, “Kindly listen to me. In the first place the cricketers early in the morning when they met me, first thing they did was to request me to tell the Pakistan Cricket Control Board chairman that they voluntarily want to withdraw from the team because certain serious charges have been levelled against them and they want to defend their honour and prove themselves innocent and that is what I did. I prevailed on the chairman to drop them from the side so that they could prove their honour and prove their innocence.

“And when they had already done that then this ICC had no business to take this action. They had already said that they would not play the series unless they had… the ICC was just trying to play to the public gallery.”

Meanwhile, further embarrassment lies ahead for the Pakistani authorities following another British newspaper claim that marked currency notes have been found in the personal belongings of team captain Salman Butt.

The Daily Mail reported on Thursday that” cash used in the cricket betting scandal is understood to have been found in the belongings of the Pakistani team captain Salman Butt. Marked notes were discovered in police searches of his hotel room and his locker at Lord’s cricket ground.”