Pakistan to face arch-rival India amid match-fixing allegations

Amid match-fixing allegations, Pakistan and arch-rival India are going to face each other in a mouth-watering Asia Cup encounter in Dhaka, on Sunday, March 18, 2012, almost a year after their historic World Cup clash.

The famous encounter, unfortunately, comes just days after fresh allegations that match-fixing remains ubiquitous in the game even after four international players including three Pakistanis and a Briton were banned and jailed in the last six months after they found culpable of wrongdoings.

This time, another leading UK daily, quoting Indian bookie, claimed that the 2011 World Cup semi-final involving India and Pakistan, was fixed. Indi won the match, leaving millions of Pakistani fans brokenhearted.

There were suspicious of wrongdoing, even at that time, when some of the Pakistani batsmen performed during the run-chase clash.

The fresh allegations concentrate on the role of Bollywood actress, who was being used as a honey trap for the international cricketers. According to the report, the result of an international cricket game can be changed for £750,000.

Apart from a recorded conversation between the reporter of Sunday Times and Delhi-based bookie, there is no solid evidence in support of the latest allegations. It will not be surprising at all that the International Cricket Council (ICC) rebuffed the report, terming it misleading and baseless.

At the same time, the New Zealand Cricket also rejected the story in which the daily claimed that several Black Caps were also involved in the match-fixing practices.

However, demurrers and clarifications cannot control the risk of match-fixing. Despite prison terms handed over to international players, it is clear that illegal bookies across the globe remain undiscouraged.

It is widely believed that there will be illegal gambling worth hundreds of millions dollars in the upcoming clash between the two rivalry teams.

There have been no assurances that it will be a transparent match despite tall claims made by the ICC regarding its anti-corruption measures taken in this regard.

Another bitter reality is that pessimistic fans of the game will always have their doubts, even if the cricket governing body succeeded in doing so. Without any doubt, it is the greatest misfortune of cricket in the present scenario.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Mar 15 2012. Filed under Opinion, Pakistan, Society, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.