Thaindian News

Islamabad,Sept 19 (ANI): Pakistan’s ODI and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has dismissed allegations of spot-fixing following his team’s 23-run win in the third one-dayer against England.

“I thought we played hard cricket and tried our level best to win the match. I just see these new allegations as an attempt to put pressure on the team,” the Daily Times quoted Afridi, as saying to a private TV channel.

“It is very unfortunate because the players have been under pressure since the Lords Test and the one-day series is still wide open,” he added.

Shocked by the allegations, Afridi has called for exemplary punishment if anyone is found guilty, but insists that there should be solid proof to support the claim, and the evidence should be made public.

“Our job right now is to focus on the remaining two matches and that is what I have told the players. The board will handle the rest,” Afridi said, referring to the two matches remaining- a game at Lord’s and the final match in Southampton.

The skipper had some good news for Pakistan fans, as wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal recovered from his finger injury and would be available for the next match on Sunday.

Pakistani cricketers- Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Aamer- were left out of the squad for the two Twenty20 internationals at Cardiff and the five-match ODI series, prior to the ICC provisionally suspending them while their own investigation into the claims is ongoing.

While media reports suggest two other players Kamran Akmal and Salman were also notified by the ICC in a separate case of match-fixing, the Pakistan government has decided to conduct its own inquiry after receiving a report from Scotland Yard. (ANI)