Pakistan fast-bowling legend Wasim Akram opened up on controversial match-fixing allegations made against him during the late 90s and rumours that still persist against the former national skipper.
In an interview with The Guardian, Wasim admitted that the allegations were “like a trauma” to deal with, especially since they are still prevalent within the Pakistan cricket community and that “hurts” him to date.
Wasim said the claims against his name were so traumatic he didn’t read the Qayyum report until he began working on his memoir titled, ‘Sultan’, with renowned Australian journalist Gideon Haigh. In the book, as well as the interview in relation to the allegations, the Sultan of Swing maintains his conscience is clean.
“People may talk about Wasim Akram, one of the best left-armers, Pakistan and Lancashire etc, and that’s how I’m generally seen by you guys in the UK. But in Pakistan, the rumours persist – ‘he’s a match-fixer’ – and that hurts a lot,”
he said.
The allegations are a product of the match-fixing scandal that rocked Pakistan cricket hard in the 1990s, with fast-bowler Ata-ur-Rehman alleging that Wasim offered him Rs 3-4 lakhs to “fix” the game. The Qayyum report, which is still one google search away from the public eye, had fined Wasim and eight of his teammates.
There are other rumours that still linger on, wherein Wasim is alleged to have faked his injury to make it easier for India to defeat Pakistan in the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal in Bangalore. He is accused of shuffling around the batting order for self motives and also for using a mobile phone in the dressing room to connect to unknown, suspicious sources.
But those allegations have never been backed by full-proof evidence. After being initially fined by the Qayyum investigation team, Wasim had been passed off those claims, although asked to be kept a watch on, when Rahman came out and said he was pressurised into taking Wasim’s name in the match-fixing scandal. Later, Pakistan’s team physio clarified that the pacer was indeed injured ahead of the 1996 quarterfinal. He was cleared of all charges by the investigating team but got slapped with a fine.
Wasim says his only mistake was to be an old school friend with Zafar Iqbal, who was found to be a gambler and bookie. But he stands clear he had no idea of other names involved in the matter.
“I think I was the only cricketer who wasn’t friendly with these guys. After Imran Khan and Javed Miandad retired, there was no one left to control the dressing room. It was so self-destructive. Imagine me playing with people who did that to me? There was just so much distrust. The cricket board should have been stronger, with strong managers and coaches.”
Akram said in the interview.
After revealing he was under pressure to take Wasim’s name, Rehman was banned for life, as was Salim Malik, the former middle-order batter. .
“He was a guy that you never trust. People change over time, though. I just don’t know him now. I have moved on in life, my father taught me to forgive and forget. I don’t burn bridges or seek revenge, life is very short,”
he says, disclosing that Malik had been nicknamed a ‘Rat’ by the great Imran Khan for his “sneaky, untrustworthy” nature.
Wasim said the idea of coming out with a memoir is to present his side of the story to the fans even if it is “tough” to recall the tragedies of the past.
