Former Pakistan cricketer Mudassar Nazar on Sunday (September 29) claimed that his team faced enormous pressure in the early 1990s as a defeat, particularly against arch-rivals India, would trigger discussions of match-fixing among fans back home.

The Pakistan team of the 90s was one of the most successful sides of that era. It achieved the ultimate glory by winning the 1992 World Cup, capping off a decade of success in both Tests and ODIs.

However, the chatter around match-fixing somewhat tarnished the image of Pakistan team in those days and Mudassar believes the players became "increasingly fearful" of the public perception.

"I think if you look at Pakistan's team in the 90s, they were, talent wise, as good as Australia in the 90s. But it was a sheer fear factor of losing the game, and I'm going to be a little bit controversial here," Mudassar said in the closing remarks of the Cricket Predicta Conclave in Sharjah.

"The controversy is behind match fixing. There was a lot of pressure on the Pakistan team because every time they lost a game, people thought the game was dubious, the game was fixed. Nobody was prepared to accept that they actually lost to a better team," he added.

Mudassar represented Pakistan in 76 Tests and 122 ODIs, amassing 6767 runs and claiming 177 wickets across the two formats.

"So, at some stage in the early 90s, I was part of that team which was fearful of losing the game, and that was entirely due to match fixing or fear of people believing the match was fixed," he stated.

A loss against India would make things worse because of the intense rivalry between the two neighbouring countries.

"You add another factor there, which is the factor of playing against India. No Pakistani, no Indian, wanted to lose the game. We've seen that in Sharjah and that's why India versus Pakistan here was such a big event.

"That wasn't the case with the cricket, but with the general public probably. There was a lot of pressure there. Unfortunately, the match-fixing saga took its toll on Pakistan team," Mudassar remarked.

After the match-fixing allegations in the mid-90s, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had set up a judicial commission headed by Justice Malik Qayyum to investigate into the claims.

Following the inquiry, the commission recommended a life ban on former captain Salim Malik for fixing and pacer Ata-ur-Rehman for lying.

The commission also recommended fines on some other players for not cooperating with the inquiry.

(With PTI Inputs)