Pakistan legend Wasim Akram had admitted that the phase during which he was labeled a match-fixer and inquiry was done against him and several of his former teammates was a dark phase of his career.
Akram, regarded as the best left-arm pacer ever produced, finished with 414 Test wickets in 104 matches and 502 wickets in 356 ODIs from 1984-2003. He captained Pakistan to the quarterfinals of the 1996 World Cup and the final of the 1999 World Cup, apart from being part of the 1992 World Cup winning squad where he was the Player of the Final against England.
In a candid chat with the Guardian, Akram revealed that he had not read the Qayyum report that fined him and his eight teammates, until he began to work on his memoir, Sultan, with the Australian journalist Gideon Haigh.
He maintains that his conscience has always been clear, but it hurts that the rumors 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 rumors persist – ‘he’s a match-fixer – and that hurts a lot,” he admitted.
He could not even understand the concept of match-fixing when he first heard it.
He said: “You would hear things. I just used to ask: ‘How is this possible? I don’t believe it. Why would we do such a thing?’ Everyone was panicky and playing for themselves. It was a horrible time, no one trusted each other.”
It was in the 1990s when pacer Ata-ur-Rehman alleged that Akram offered him Rs 3-4 lakh to “fix” an ODI in New Zealand in 1993-94 by bowling badly.
The rumors got stronger when he allegedly faked an injury and withdrew from the 1996 World Cup quarter-final game against India in Bangalore, and manipulate the game by promoting himself up the batting order and using a mobile phone in the dressing room.
Rehman then perjured himself in the inquiry and was later banned for life for his involvement in match-fixing. The Pakistan team physio and Wasim Akram himself have revealed that he was badly injured due to a side strain and hence didn’t play in the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal against India.
He was eventually cleared of serious charges, but was slapped with a fine and stated that “he should be observed closely.”
He says that his only big mistake was being close friends with Zafar Iqbal a gambler and bookie.
“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 adds.
Akram also called Salim Malik, a former captain, a person who couldn’t be trusted at all. Imran Khan had nicknamed him the “Rat,” because he was “sneaky, untrustworthy and often unpleasant to deal with.”
“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.
(The Guardian/ Indian Express inputs)
