‘Was playing against 22 people’: Shoaib Akhtar claims he was ‘surrounded by match-fixers’

The spot-fixing scandal happened in August 2010 during Pakistan’s tour of England and then captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were banned by the ICC for their involvement.

Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has made startling revelations in an interview where he claimed he was surrounded by match-fixers in the national team. Akhtar stated he felt he was playing against 22 men — the opposition and also his own teammates. The spot-fixing scandal happened in August 2010 during Pakistan’s tour of England and then captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were sanctioned by the ICC for their involvement.

File image of former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar. (Getty Images)

“I was always of the belief that I can never cheat Pakistan, no match-fixing. I was surrounded by match-fixers,” Akhtar said on the show Rewind With Samina Peerzada. “I was playing against 22 people (sic)— 11 theirs and 10 ours. Who knows who was the match-fixer. There was so much match fixing. (Mohammad) Asif told me which all matches they had fixed and how they did it.”

“I tried to make Amir and Asif understand. What a waste of talent. When I heard about this, I was so upset that I punched the wall. Pakistan’s two top bowlers, smart, intelligent and the two perfect fast bowlers were wasted. They sold themselves for a little money,” he added.

Butt, Asif and Amir were eventually banned for a minimum of five years in early 2011 by the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal after they were first suspended in September 2010.

Earlier, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi had claimed that he was aware of the exchange of messages between his teammates and a bookmaker before the 2010 spot-fixing scandal but then coach Waqar Younis refused to act despite being provided with evidence.

“...the management gave a damn... typical obfuscation and delay tactics; the Pakistani management’s head was in the sand. Maybe the management was scared of the consequences. Maybe they were invested in these players as their favourites and future captains...I really can’t say,” Afridi wrote in the book.

He said he was in Sri Lanka on a tour (Asia Cup in June 2010) when he received transcripts of the text messages from Majeed and Butt’s ‘agent and manager’, who was also prosecuted.

“It is pure coincidence how I got hold of them. And it’s got something to do with a kid, a beach and a repairman,” said Afridi.