Saleem Malik has formally responded to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on a pending inquiry against him that is beyond the scope of allegations that led to his life ban on match-fixing charges in 2000. The case, ESPNcricinfo understands, is related to a sting operation from 2000 – carried out by the now-defunct News of the World, the same newspaper (and reporter) that carried out the 2010 sting – in which Malik is allegedly seen agreeing to potentially carry out corrupt acts on the field.
The PCB had intended to open a file based on that information eight years ago and called upon Malik for clarification without any success. It has confirmed the reception of Malik’s response and says it is under review. Although Malik had volunteered to clear his name when the PCB set up an integrity commission in the wake of the 2010 spot-fixing saga, he hadn’t, before Monday, adhered to the PCB summons based on the sting operation.
Last month, he re-emerged after a movement appeared to have begun urging the PCB to reintegrate him. Malik had been banned for life in 2000 after being found guilty of attempting to fix a Test in Justice Qayyum’s report, before a Lahore sessions court lifted it in 2008. But his reintegration wasn’t straightforward. Shortly after the verdict, PCB denied that they had offered him the post of head coach at the National Cricket Academy, a day after he said he had accepted their offer for the same. Since then, he had been lrgely off the grid.
“I have never been quiet. I wasn’t given ample coverage,” Malik said outside the Gaddafi Stadium after submitting his response to the PCB’s Security and Anti-corruption head. “I have been disheartened when my previous press conferences were under reported, but now we have social media [which is] a good medium to be heard. Even if you guys [the media] are not coming to cover me, I can still record and make it viral on social media. I have become grandfather now and I don’t like to be maligned every now and then on TV.
“I have submitted a detailed reply and the transcript they gave me was totally mala fide [in bad faith]. I’ve been fighting my case in courts for eight years and they [PCB] never offered any such transcript [against him in court] ever. The Justice Qayyum report doesn’t carry any value and it was biased. So this is all lies against me and I have been suffering with injustice for long. I never criticise anyone in my statements […] they’re all great players who served the country with distinction. But at the same time, I also served Pakistan and won a lot games for the country and I deserve to be treated equally. I know there have been a lot changes at the helm in the last ten years but for now I hope for the best.”
Malik had a tremendous career as captain, and is one of only a handful of player who went onto play over 100 Tests for Pakistan. He played 103 Tests and 263 one-day internationals for Pakistan between 1981 to 1999, but his career was ultimately overshadowed by the match-fixing scandals. In a judicial inquiry – that began in 1998 and continued for 13 months – he was found guilty of attempting to bribe Australian cricketer Mark Waugh to fix the 1994-95 Karachi Test.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo