Ramiz Raja gives harsh verdict on Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis’ match-fixing allegations

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja made some scathing remarks as he said that his former teammates Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis would have been banned by him for match-fixing allegations during their playing days. 

The 60-year-old opened up on the Pakistan legends and believes that they shouldn’t have been brought back into the set-up after Justice Qayyum’s report on match-fixing. The name of Akram and Younis was written multiple times on the report but no major action was taken. The 56-year-old Akram was fined and was removed from captaincy as he continued to play for the national team while Waqar was in the Pakistan set-up for a longer time.

“I think no one should have had the chance of coming back to Pakistan cricket. If Wasim Akram’s name is in there, and he was censored for not cooperating, right? It was a borderline case. If I was the decision maker at the time, I would’ve banned them forever,” Raza said on Samaa TV.

“You brought them back to system. I wasn’t in power at the time. We were told to play with them and work with them, and that was it. No one knew how to tackle that. So many people were involved in that. I don’t know what the compulsion was,” the former cricketer added.

Whoever is tainted, I’ve zero tolerance for it: Raja

The former PCB chief also stated that tainted cricketers should not be allowed to make a comeback in the national set-up. Referring to the trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif, who were banned for match-fixing in 2010, Raja said he would have never tolerated any of them making a comeback and playing for Pakistan again.

“Whoever is tainted, I’ve zero tolerance for it. I’m absolutely clear. People say they’ve had the punishment, move on. But I’ve experienced such situations,” the 60-year-old added.