Akram may be cleared of betting charges

According to information available, the Pakistani media indicated that Akram could be cleared of betting, bribery and match-fixing charges. This is following Rehman’s meeting with the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Khalid Mahmood, and his denial that he had submitted an affidavit, which was published by a Karachi-based magazine, The Herald. He alleged that the affidavit was forged.

Earlier, Akram met Mahmood on Monday night and appeared beforethe 15-member senate sub-committee headed by Justice Javed Iqbal in Lahore on Tuesday.

"There is not a grain of truth in it," Rehman was quoted as saying in a meeting with the sports journalists of Lahore. "I was in England when I heard about it and I can say candidly that I had never submitted such an affidavit to a magistrate in Lahore as has been quoted in The Herald.The magazine is said to have published the full text of the affidavit which implicated Akram.

"I bowled extremely well in that match (the 1994 game against New Zealand at Christchurch, in which he was supposed to have bowled badly after he was offered Rs 200,000 to do so) but I didn’t get any wicket. We lost because we scored just 150 runs. Therefore, all this drama attributed to me is a conspiracy against me," said Rehman who is believed to be planning legal action against Herald for publishing a false affidavit in his name.

Interestingly, Rehman has not met the PCB Chief Executive, Majid Khan, who was also in Lahore atthe same time when he met Mahmood.

Meanwhile, the senate Committee is believed to have been initiated by the Chairmen of the PCB, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah Bukhari and Mahmood.

Akram, who has been quoted as saying that he will approach Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to intervene in the matter — it is not known whether he has met him so far — has also met the Federal Minister for Sports, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed in Islamabad earlier this week.

Though the PCB has officially said that Akram was not considered for the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe because he was not fit, Akram has denied it. And the belief is that he was not considered because of his suspected involvement in match-fixing.

With Rehman’s affidavit now falling apart, it seems the former captain with more than 300 wickets in Tests and one-dayers could be back sooner than expected.

Deposed skipper appears before committee

LAHORE: Dogged by allegations of match fixing, Wasim Akram appeared today before a parliamentary committee onsports to clear his name. "I have always played for Pakistan … I have never asked any Pakistani player to take money to lose a game," Akram told the committee headed by Javed Iqbal, a retired judge of the Lahore High Court.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif formed the parliamentary committee after a Karachi-based English-language magazine published an affidavit allegedly by former cricketer Ata-ur Rehman accusing Akram of match fixing.

After a day of hearings, the committee wasn’t convinced of the Pakistan cricket team’s innocence and ordered further hearings. Rather Javed accused the Pakistan Cricket Board of trying to protect the players.

"I am not satisfied that there has been no wrongdoing," said Javed. "The performance of the Pakistan team has been poor and we want to try to find out what has caused Pakistan’s defeat in international matches." No date was set for the next round of hearings. Meanwhile Akram told AP, "I want my name cleared. But mentally I don’t know when I would be ready to play forPakistan. It has been very difficult for me."