"Have been suffering with injustice for long", Salim Malik calls wrong allegations on his integrity

Malik was banned by the PCB in 2000 for life following match-fixing allegations.

By Kashish Chadha - 09 Jun, 2020

Calling allegations questioning his integrity untrue, former Pakistan batsman Salim Malik urged the country's cricket board to treat him fairly. 

“I have submitted a detailed reply today but the transcript they gave me was totally mala fide," AP quoted Malik as saying on Monday (June 8), using a legal term used to convey "bad faith" while describing the allegations.

Read Also: PCB asks government to legislate criminalizing match-fixing, spot-fixing in cricket

The allegations are part of a transcript that came out following a sting operation against Malik in England in 2001, which was conducted by Mazhar Mehmood, a reporter who broke the 2010 spot-fixing scandal story involving Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif.

Amir, Butt and Asif were sentenced to ban for a minimum of five years over their involvement in 2010 Lord's Test spot-fixing controversy. 

Mehmood, in 2016, was jailed for 15 months on being found guilty of conspiring to distort the course of justice in relation to another trial.

Featuring in 103 Test matches and 263 ODIs between 1981-1999, Malik was banned by the PCB in 2000 on the recommendation of a judicial inquiry headed by Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum. The enquiry carried out an investigation following allegations of match-fixing on several Pakistani players of the time. 

As per the findings, the enquiry recommended life-ban on Malik and fines on the likes of Wasim Akram, Inzamam Ul Haq and Waqar Younis. Malik, however, challenged his punishment in 2008 and got his ban lifted when a civil court judge said the PCB can't legally put such a ban on the former right-hander. 

"I fought my case in courts for eight years and they (PCB) never came up with any such transcript ever," he said. 

Justice Malik Qayyum's report, said Malik, didn't "carry any value" as he accepted on television that he had been biased in favour of some cricketers while doing his investigation.

“Justice Qayyum’s report doesn’t carry any value, it was biased. I have been suffering with injustice for long. I never criticise anyone in my statements … all are great players and had served the country with distinctions."

"At the same time I also served Pakistan and won lots of games for the country and I deserved to be treated equally. I know there have been a lot of changes at the helm (of the PCB) in the last 10 years and now I hope for the best," added Malik. 

(Inputs from AP)

By Kashish Chadha - 09 Jun, 2020

TAGS