Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja in an interview with Samaa TV made a scathing remark on his former teammates Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis saying those whose name was involved in match-fixing should never have been brought back into the system.
“I think no one should have had the chance of coming back to Pakistan cricket. If Wasim Akram’s name is in there, and he was censored for not cooperating, right? It was a borderline case. If I was the decision maker at the time, I would’ve banned them forever,” Raza said.
Raja’s remark was on Justice Qayyum’s report on match-fixing, where the names of Akram and Younis has been written several times. Akram was fined and removed from the captaincy, but he continued to play cricket for Pakistan, on the other hand, Waqar had two separate stints as the side’s head coach.
“You brought them back to system. I wasn’t in power at the time. We were told to play with them and work with them, and that was it. No one knew how to tackle that. So many people were involved in that. I don’t know what the compulsion was,” said Raja.
In his report, Justice Qayyum wrote, “The evidence against Wasim Akram has not come up to the requisite level, primarily because of Ata-ur-Rehman’s perjuring himself. This Commission is willing to give him the benefit of doubt. However, there has been some evidence to cast doubt on his integrity. As such, this Commission recommends that he be removed from the captaincy of the Pakistan Cricket Team and a person of impeccable character be appointed. Moreover, he should be censured, kept under watch and his finances should be investigated.”
In 2006 Justice Qayyum told ESPNcricinfo that “a soft corner” for Akram might have influenced him in the punishment he handed out.
Raja also said that tainted cricketers should not be allowed to come back into the system. When asked about the trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif – who were also banned after spot-fixing charges in 2010. He said: “Whoever is tainted, I’ve zero tolerance for it.”
Amir did return to the Pakistan team and represented the side in multiple World Cups; however, under Ramiz Raja’s tenure, the left-arm pacer was shunned from the side.
“I’m absolutely clear. People say they’ve had the punishment, move on. But I’ve experienced such situations,” said Ramiz.
In an interview with The Guardian this November, Akram said that the match-fixing allegations against him “was like a trauma”. So traumatic that he had not read the Qayyum report that fined him and his eight teammates, until he began to work with his memoir, Sultan.
He maintains that his conscience has always been clear, but it hurts that the rumours still persist. “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.”
