KARACHI - Indian honour has suffered as much as Pakistan because of the frivolous match-fixing allegations in the semi final of the ODI World Cup between the two teams in Mohali (India) last year said former PCB CEO Arif Ali Khan Abbasi and urged the two cricket boards to come together to retaliate the allegations leveled by a British journalists in his forthcoming book.
In an interview here on Monday Arif Ali Khan Abbasi who had successfully defended charges of match fixing against a Pakistani cricketer by the Australians some years ago said India should not feel that the onus of refuting the charges were on Pakistan alone and they had nothing to do with it. But they are forgetting as host of the semi final and the other team in the contest which benefited the most from those allegations ,they should also partially own the blame if the allegations were true.
If the allegations that Pakistani team threw the match to help India win than this argument could be further extended and could also apply to the final which India won. Moreover the bookie who provided information to the British journalist was also an Indian.
He said he was not pointing fingers at Indian team and the cricketers but only reminding the Indian Board it was time to take by horn all those unscrupulous elements who were minting money at the cost of the game and the reputations of the teams ,the cricketers and nations.
Pakistan Cricket Board should take the lead and immediately contact the BCCI to coble together a strategy that will discourage future accusers who make money by spreading false rumors without any proof that could pass the test of a trial in a court of law. He said he was confident Indians would cooperate in such a joint effort.
He accused journalist Ed Hawkin for aiding and abetting in the alleged sordid crime of match fixing if there was any, by not immediately informing the host board and the ICC about the messages that he had received by the Indian bookie. It is the duty of every law abiding honest citizen to inform the authorities if he felt that the law was bring breached. What would have Hawkin done had he received a message about a serious crime being taking place. Had he not gone to the authorities if such a thing was happening or sit quietly to use the incident later on in his book to make money. If he had sat quietly and not informed the authorities he would have been as much responsible for that crime as the criminal himself.
Ed Hawkin needed to be taken to the court and it could be done effectively if both India and Pakistan come together in the interest of the game and their honor.
He said he had all the confidence in British justice.He disclosed he gotten justice when he had to go to the English court to seek justice for the Pakistani Cricket Board as secretary BCCP against an international TV net work. All future trouble makers should be discouraged and the best way is to take Ed Hawkin to the court.
He felt sorry for those former and current Pakistani cricket officials who were trading accusations and shifting blame on one another. No matter when and where the allegations were leveled it was the responsibility of the current office bearers to move quickly and try to save Pakistani reputations which had already suffered hugely for a number of times in the past.