Kamal Ghorui
Former Pakistan all-rounder and national selector Abdul Razzaq has revealed how, by a twist of fate, the 2010 spot-fixing conspiracy first came to the attention of the team management during Pakistan’s tour of England. Razzaq also recounted how then captain Shahid Afridi slapped fast bowler Mohammad Amir after the young pacer initially denied involvement in the scandal.Speaking on a Pakistani television show, Razzaq said the plot behind the fixing during the 2010 Lord’s Test spot-fixing scandal was uncovered by a friend of his in London who repaired mobile phones part-time.
“What happened was that Mazhar Majeed came to my friend and asked him to repair one of his phones. When my friend managed to get the phone working late at night, he found several messages between Mazhar and the three players detailing plans to spot-fix in the match,” Razzaq said.Majeed was later jailed for conspiring with Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Amir to spot-fix during the Test.According to Razzaq, his friend immediately showed him the messages, prompting him to inform Afridi, who was the senior-most player in the squad at the time.Afridi had stepped down as Test captain ahead of the series but remained the white-ball skipper.“Afridi called Amir, who was just 18 then, to his room and asked me to wait outside. I could hear Afridi getting angry and asking him to tell the truth. When he kept denying it, I heard a loud slap and rushed inside,” Razzaq recalled.“After that Amir broke down in tears and admitted to the conspiracy, and all hell broke loose,” he added.Razzaq said the scandal might not have spiralled if the Pakistan Cricket Board and team management had acted more swiftly.“Some senior players advised the team manager to fine the three players and send them home on disciplinary grounds before the ICC got involved,” he said.Eventually, Butt, Asif and Amir were banned by the International Cricket Council and later received jail sentences from a UK Crown Court.Butt and Asif never played for Pakistan again, although they were allowed to return to domestic cricket after completing their five-year bans.Amir, whose age and early confession were taken into account, returned to international cricket in 2016. He continued playing until the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, although he had earlier stepped away from international cricket due to a self-imposed retirement between 2020 and 2024.
