ICC rubbishes match-fixing allegations against Pakistan team

New Delhi:

The International Cricket Council on Wednesday rubbished match-fixing allegations against the Pakistan cricket team in the just-concluded Champions Trophy in South Africa.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat also gave a clean chit to Australian umpire Simon Taufel who was officiating the semi-final match between Pakistan and New Zealand.

"It is not worthy of spending any energy on that. We are very comfortable with Simon Taufel," Lorgat told a television channel from Johannesburg.

"We are quite pleased with the way the game was played. It was played in great spirits. We all know the reputation of Simon Taufel," he added.

Match-fixing returned to haunt Pakistan cricket after the national team's semifinal defeat in the Champions Trophy with the Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports MNA Jamshed Dasti accusing the players of being involved in match-fixing. Dasti subsequently back-tracked saying he never accused the players of fixing matches.

A senior Sindh minister had accused India of influencing umpires to get Pakistan ousted from the Champions Trophy semifinal in South Africa.

Muhammad Ali Shah, the minister for Sports and a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board governing council, suspected the role of Indian mafia in the sub-standard umpiring.

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