Pakistan Cricket Board chief Zaka Ashraf refuses to comment on IPL spot-fixing
The PCB chief said that his board had taken a number of steps to prevent its players from getting involved in corrupt practices.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Zaka Ashraf has refused to comment on the spot-fixing scandal that has hit the Indian Premier League, referring to it as an internal matter of the BCCI.
But the PCB chief said that his board had taken a number of steps to prevent its players from getting involved in corrupt practices.
"I can assure you that even when our team plays in the Champions Trophy next month in England there will be no repeat of the 2010 spot-fixing scandal," he said on Sunday.
"I don't want to comment on an issue that is an internal matter of the BCCI. They know best how to handle it. But overall the PCB has put in place some very strong measures to curb this menace," he said.
"We also want to play a key role in cooperating with authorities to curb this menace in international cricket," he added.
After the spot-fixing scandal broke out in the IPL, the Indian media and police have mentioned a nexus of bookmakers from Mumbai to Dubai to Karachi.
Ashraf also said that Pakistan would be willing to be part of any move against corruption in cricket.
He said so far the BCCI or the Indian police had not asked for any help or support but if anyone wanted Pakistan's support and cooperation to curb this menace, the PCB would be willing to assist. The PCB chief said as far as the Pakistan team was concerned, all steps had been taken to ensure there were no more scandals in the future.
"We don't want a repeat of the 2010 situation so we have put in place some extraordinary measures like including some strong anti-corruption clauses in the players contracts, sending a vigilance officer to England to monitor them and also advice them on avoiding suspicious people and we are educating the players about the fallout of indulging in any corrupt practice," he said.
When Pakistan toured England in 2010, then captain Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir were caught in London following a sting by a British tabloid which exposed the spot-fixing scandal during the fourth Test at Lords.