TORONTO, SEPT 18: Pakistani all-rounder Wasim Akram says he is not retiring from international cricket, only staying away from the national side till his besmirched name is ``is cleared'' of match-fixinf allegations.``I have not retired, but I will play only after my name is cleared. Only after the investigations are completed and I'm exonerated of all the charges,'' the celebrated all-rounder said from London yesterday.``It may take two months or two years. But I will not play cricket till my name is cleared,'' the former Pakistan skipper said.``I received a letter from Khalid Mahmood, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) only recently, which said I should be prepared to join the national team for Sahara Cup in Toronto. Such late intimation makes no sense,'' Akram said.Akram, who was implicated along with Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmed in an interim report of a PCB panel probing allegations of match-fixing and bribery, will consult a retired judge of Pakistan Supreme Court to get his namecleared after returning to the country on September 29.``I owe it to my fans, friends, my wife and above all my son,'' the former Pakistan captain, who first relinquished the job after the allegations were levelled against him for the first time, said.Akram, who has played 79 Tests and 247 one-dayers, and taken 341 Test and 375 One-Day wickets, said he still had a lot of cricket left in him.``I can't think of anything but to fight on till my name is cleared. These things weigh me down and I can't think of anything else at the moment,'' he said.Alleging that some ``forces'' were bent upon wrecking his career, Akram said ``There are forces which gave me no credit for Pakistan thrashing West Indies 3-0 in a home series last year, the first time the West Indies were beaten so in 69 years.``They also thought we would be thrashed in Australia in 1996-97, but we won the Triangular World Series, the first such happening in 17 years. Further, when we beat England 2-0 in England in 1996, we were given nocredit,'' Akram said.He was also miffed at the way PCB had treated him.``Look at how my county and its chairman Jack Simmons responded. Simmons said he did not believe in whatever was being published about me and said I could play for the county next year. My county is supporting me but not my country, for whose honour I devoted my last 14 years,'' Akram said.Regarding his closeness to a bookie, Akram said: ``I have a friend, a childhood friend, who bets on (the) game. But I have personally never gone to a bookie. Further, match-fixing can't be carried out by one person. Six or seven of a team need to be involved.''``When people speak about match-fixing, they talk about unexpected defeats. What about those matches which we were losing but won?'' he asked.
