Former pacer Mohammad Asif has revealed that he was not the first Pakistan cricketer to have indulged in spot-fixing, nor the last one to do so.
Asif was banned for seven years for his role in the spot-fixing scandal during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010, when he bowled no balls deliberately for money. He was found guilty along with Mohammad Amir and then-captain Salman Butt, with all three serving jail terms.
Asif lamented that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) didn’t treat him better and felt he should have got a second chance like many others, whom he did not name.
“Everyone makes mistakes and I did too. Players had been indulging in fixing before me and even after me. But those who did it before me are working with PCB and there are a few after me who are still playing,” Asif said during an interview to ESPNCricinfo.
“Everyone was given a second chance and there are few who never got the same treatment (as me). PCB never tried to save me regardless of the fact that I am the kind of bowler who was highly regarded by everyone in the world,” he rued.
The 37-year-old fast bowler also failed a dope test in 2006 and was suspended from playing for a year. He admitted that he “should have behaved better off the field.”
