27 February,2010 07:27 AM IST | | A Correspondent
The Pakistan Cricket Board is running from pillar to post to clear the impression that wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and another player are under investigation for match-fixing on the recent Australian tour.
Kamran Akmal
After a section of the Pakistani media reported that Akmal was under investigation, questions were put to PCB chief Ejaz Butt at a press conference which was called to announce the 30 probables for the T20 World Cup in April and May.
Butt, instead of issuing a straight forward denial or refusing to respond, added fuel to fire by indicating that two players were indeed suspected of match-fixing.
Butt at the ripe old age of nearly 72 has been guilty of raking up unnecessary controversies, but this time he went overboard. Once the conference was over, the Board went into damage control mode insisting his remarks were about old cases.
U-turn
Things went from bad to worse with Butt telling the media that he had not spoken about current players but had talked about cases relating to 10 to 12 years ago when he was not in administration.
If anything, these developments show something is wrong in Pakistan cricket and rumours about form not being the reason for Kamran being dropped for the recent T20 series against England have now gained credence.
Board and team sources told MiD-DAY that Kamran's performance in Australia, particularly in the Sydney Test where he dropped three catches and missed a clear run out have indeed come under scrutiny.
No proof
"Tour manager Abdul Raquib told PCB committee members that there were question marks about Kamran's performance but said he didn't have proof of match-fixing," a source disclosed.
The same source disclosed that when Ejaz Butt met with captain Mohd Yousuf after the tour, the issue of some players being involved with bookmakers was discussed.
