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Journalism of Courage
Three senior members of the Pakistan team had refused to play the Test series against India after accusations were made after the fourth One-day International at Lahore that the match could have been ‘‘fixed’’.
The News has learnt from Pakistan team sources that the three senior players — captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, vice captain Yousuf Youhana and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar — were very upset after the match-fixing accusations that came as the result of a local news agency misquoting former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif.
Rashid had spoken as an expert on a private television channel after the match and said there were questions on some moments and the outcome of the match that needed to be looked into but the agency quoted him as saying directly that the match had been ‘‘fixed’’.
‘‘When the story appeared after the match, three of the players were very upset and informed the manager Haroon Rasheed that they would not play in the Test series unless the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took some action against the people making the allegations without any evidence’’, the source said.
‘‘The players were already fed up with the constant allegations made by former Pakistan bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz before the series started and lost their cool’’, the source said.
‘‘Shaharyar made them see sense and how their reputations would suffer if they refused to play in the Tests against India’’, the source added.
‘‘He assured them that he would sort out the matter soon and a permanent protocol would be placed in the Board’s legal system where anyone making any match-fixing allegations would be sued if he went to the press directly without any substantial or circumstantial evidence’’, he informed.
‘‘Shaharyar told them he would be speaking to Rashid on the subject and if the former captain didn’t retract his statement, disciplinary action would be taken against him.’’
Shaharyar had described Rashid’s statement on the match as ‘‘shameful’’ and ‘‘unpatriotic’’. The wicketkeeper later clarified his position in a letter to the board.
However, sources close to Latif and Youhana expressed doubts that the Pakistan vice-captain would have adopted such a stance. ‘‘Youhana, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq and even Shoaib Akhtar all have a lot of regard for Rashid. But you never know in Pakistan cricket. Friendships can go bad on very minor issues’’, one source said. (The News)
