Pakistan politician makes bizarre claim; alleges that Imran Khan was involved in match-fixing

What’s the story?

The Media Coordinator of the Pakistan Muslim League, Muhammad Mehdi has made a bold allegation against former Pakistan captain and chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, claiming that Khan was involved in match-fixing during his time as a cricketer. He further highlighted how Khan had refused to bowl in one of the matches to make money.

“A complete probe is the need of the hour to trace the amount Imran took in reward for his dubious refusal to bowl despite being the main striker of the team,” he said. “An investigation should be carried out to know the number of ducks (out for zero runs) made by Imran for money,” he added.

In case you didn’t know...

Imran Khan’s career has been full of controversy. In 1994, Khan had admitted to seam-lifting Test matches. In 1981, he admitted to scratching the cherry with a bottle in a county match. And as per the statements made by Mehdi, he had refused to bowl key overs for Pakistan during his prime in return for money.

The heart of the matter

The politician Mehdi also said that the World Cup-winning captain bought a controversial flat in London in the same year that he refused to bowl the crucial over in a game. He also ranted that due to his financial priorities, the former skipper left the team in a lurch and did not participate in the 1983 ODI World Cup in England where the Men in Green performed poorly.

As per The Tribune, Mehdi also said that the PTI chief had himself penned down instances of match-fixing in his autobiography and the investigators can take that as proof. Imran’s lawyer, meanwhile, also said that the cricketer made money from playing in Australia and England, keeping national duty aside.

What’s next?

It will be interesting to see how Imran reacts to these allegations. Given that he has never shied away from making comments in public in the past, one can expect retaliation from the 64-year-old soon.

Author’s Take

If these allegations are true, they only go on to suggest that the roots of match-fixing in Pakistan cricket are quite deep-lying. At the same time, such allegations can bring infamy to a World Cup winning skipper like Imran.