By IANS,
Karachi: Almost five months after claiming that he would expose people linked to match-fixing in international cricket, former Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider feels no cricketer will report fixing in future as he is unlikely to get any support from those who matter.
Zulqarnain, who fled to Britain but is now returning home later this week after withdrawing his asylum application, said that after what happened with him, no player will “report fixing in future”.
“You don’t get the help and support from within cricketing circles that one would expect and that is why a lot of cricketers are turning a blind eye to corruption in cricket – No player will report fixing in future,” Zulqarnain told pakpassion.net.
“My family has had to endure a lot of problems just because I spoke out against corruption. Every time I spoke out against fixing in cricket, there would be threatening calls made to my family in Pakistan and that meant that I couldn’t provide the Pakistan Cricket Board or the ICC with the full information that I wanted to give them.”
Zulqarnain said he has learnt his lessons.
“The whole experience over the past few months since I walked out on the Pakistan team in the UAE has been a real eye opener for me. I have learnt a lot from the experience.
“The hardest thing for me to grasp is that problems are created for you and family if you speak out against those who are corrupt,” said Zulqarnain, who walked out on the Pakistan team last November before a one-day International in Abu Dhabi and later claimed that he was threatened by the match-fixing mafia.
Zulqarnain’s cricketing future remains uncertain and he feels that the most important thing for him to concentrate upon his return to Pakistan is to spend some quality time with his family.
“Firstly, I want to relax and spend time with my wife and children and to see my father who as of late, has not been in the best of health.
“I have not retired from first class cricket, only international cricket, so playing first class cricket next season could be an option also. I will have to see what the scenario is and what options are available to me when I return to Pakistan as there are a lot of things on my mind at the moment and its best to make decisions with a clear head.”
Zulqarnain confirmed that he had spoken to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt since making his decision about returning to Pakistan. “I had a brief conversation with Ijaz Butt after I made the decision to return to Pakistan, but it was just a general conversation and no specific discussions were held.”
He remains adamant regarding the stance he took and added that he feels that “Pakistan cricket and world cricket needs to change for the better. I will sit down with the authorities and give them my opinions on what can be done to change Pakistan cricket regarding fixing. Until firm action is taken in Pakistan cricket by those in power, these “bad things” will continue to happen. On a wider scale, it is up to the ICC to catch those corrupt elements in the game – it falls under the domain of those running the game of cricket to catch those people.”