Mohammad Amir conceded spot-fixing truth after getting slapped by Shahid Afridi, says Abdul Razzaq

For left-arm Pakistani seamer Mohammad Amir, the ICC Cricket World Cup has been a rebirth of the sort. The 27-year-old was initially ignored for the mega tournament as he had a horrible run with the ball, taking only five wickets in 14 matches. However, Pakistan’s poor outing against England in the ODI series just before the World Cup saw the selectors brought him back along with another experienced bowler Wahab Riaz. Amir has delivered so far in this tournament, picking five wickets in the first two games. He also dismissed Australian captain Aaron Finch in the match in Taunton on Wednesday.

Amir, a talented pace bowler, served a long ban in connection to a spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010. Recently, former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq claimed that Amir had confessed to his fixing only after getting slapped by the then Pakistan ODI captain Shahid Afridi. He also said that Salman Butt, who was the captain of the Test team then and also faced the ban, was involved in corruption much before the notorious tour.

“He (Afridi) told me to leave the room but after a while, I heard the sound of a slap and then Aamir told the whole truth,” Razzaq was quoted as saying to Lahore-based GNN channel.

Razzaq, a former all-rounder who played 265 ODIs for Pakistan between 1996 and 2011 scoring over 5,000 runs and taking 269 wickets, also blamed the then set-up of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for having to bring a bad name to the country’s cricket.

“I thought instead of going to the ICC to prove its efficiency, the PCB should have instead directly taken the three players to the task despite their denials and sent them back home on some pretext. They should have banned them for a year or so. In the end, by not doing this, the PCB spoilt the image of Pakistan cricket worldwide,” he said.

Cricket Australia banned three players, including top performers like David Warner and Steve Smith, last year after they were found involved in a ball-tampering act in a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town.

‘Butt was deliberately getting out’

The 39-year-old Razzaq also said that Butt was deliberately getting out and playing dot balls much before the scandal saw daylight in England. “I shared my concerns with Afridi but he said it is just my Waham (misconception) and nothing is wrong. But when I was batting with Salman Butt during a match of the World T20 in West Indies, I was convinced he was letting down the team.”

Razzaq recalled that he had told Butt to take a single and give him the strike but he did not listen. “I was surprised when he refused this strategy. When I realised what he was up to (something) I told him strictly to give me the strike. Yet every over he deliberately played two or three balls and then gave me a strike. I got upset and felt the pressure and got out.”

Mohammad Asif was the third player who was also banned along with the duo.