Pakistan Test Captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Sunday said that players involved in spot-fixing scandals should not be allowed to return to the field again.
Speaking to the media about the recent Pakistan Super League (PSL) spot-fixing scandal, Misbah said players involved should be handed a life-time ban so that such incidents do not repeat themselves.
Last week, the Pakistan Cricket Board issued a charge-sheet against opener Shahzaib Hasan and suspended him over allegations of spot-fixing during the PSL. The unit had previously issued notices of charge to four cricketers — batsmen Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif and paceman Mohammad Irfan — in the spot-fixing inquiry.
Misbah said the scandal has been “very disappointing” and rendered pointless the team’s efforts to better its image over seven years since the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.
In 2010, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt had agreed to bowl no-balls in return for payment as part of a betting scam in the Lord’s Test against England. The players were suspended provisionally by the International Cricket Council and served jail time.
The bans on the three players ended in 2015 and Amir returned to international cricket in 2016.
“We had almost changed the team’s image with the tour in England and the performance of the team on and off the field. We revived the team but now it feels like out efforts have been wasted,” the captain said.
“We have to rebuild our image,” Misbah added.
The widening scandal has taken some of the sheen off the recently-completed PSL, which was hailed as a step towards restoring international cricket after the final in Lahore passed without incident.
