Senate to probe Pak's defeat; hints at match-fixing

[macintosh]

Senate to probe Pak's defeat; hints at match-fixing



Lahore, Jan 26: Shocked by Pakistan’s abject surrender against Sri Lanka in the final ODI at Lahore, where chasing 310 run target for victory, they were bowled out for 75, their lowest ever score at home, Pakistan Senate`s sports standing committee have summoned captain Shoaib Malik, coach Intikhab Alam and chief selector Abdul Qadir for a meeting next week to demand an explanation.

"We are shocked at the way our team lost in Lahore. It was a disgraceful defeat which I believe needs to be probed. I mean you cannot expect a team to get out with just 75 runs on the board,” Senator Enver Baig said.

"We will want to hear what Shoaib Malik, Intikhab Alam and Abdul Qadir have to say about the debacle against Sri Lanka."

At a meeting held earlier this month, Pakistan`s senators had come down heavily on Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt for various ` failures` on the administrative front.

Now, the standing committee has decided to examine on-field performances as well.


Baig even refused to discount the possibility of the match being fixed.

“I personally smell some foul play,” he said.

"Match-fixing is something that hasn`t been eradicated completely (from Pakistan cricket), which is very unfortunate," he said.

"The manner in which our team lost the final match has certainly raised suspicions. Pakistan was worse than an ordinary club team. Such a performance is completely unacceptable."

Pakistan had won the first of the three limited-overs matches but went on to lose the next two, to concede the series to Sri Lanka.

The defeats have left Malik under immense pressure, with several former players such as Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul Haq renewing calls for him to be sacked, while a public row over the selection of Shoaib Akhtar has only made things worse for Malik.


When Pak lost by such a huge margin I was very much astonished but this scrutinizing of Pak cricket will only jeopardize their cricket.