'Subcontinent gambles $50 bn on cricket'

Jurors in a London Crown Court were told that cricket betting syndicates were controlled and orchestrated by "shadowy figures" based in Dubai, Mumbai, London and Karachi

Jurors in a London Crown Court were told that cricket betting syndicates were controlled and orchestrated by "shadowy figures" based in Dubai, Mumbai, London and Karachi and some $50 billion was gambled away in the Asian subcontinent alone on matches played around the world and beamed live on satellite television.

HT Image

Aftab Jafferjee, a Queen's Counsel appearing on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service, said that even if that figure was reduced by a tenth, it "not unsurprisingly makes spot-fixing and match-fixing irresistible to some".

The agent of accused Pakistani cricketers, Mazhar Majeed, had told an undercover reporter that fixing the outcome of a Test match had been achieved in the past and could be arranged for a fee of one million pounds.

"(It) reveals a depressing tale of rampant corruption at the heart of international cricket, with key players being members of the Pakistan cricket team," Jafferjee said. He said that fixing was orchestrated "at the expense of the integrity of the game".

Jafferjee said that the men accused of spot-fixing had "contaminated" the games and "their activity represents a betrayal by them of their own team, their own cricket board and most damaging of all a betrayal of the sport of cricket itself --- and all for greed".

PCB COO in London
PCB Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmad's sudden trip to London on the pretext of meeting ICC officials has left the cricket community wondering whether his visit has something to do with the ongoing spot-fixing trial. A former Test captain said the presence of PCB COO in London raises several questions that only the Board can answer.