Gautam
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Sep 2, 2011, 03.36PM IST PTI
KARACHI: Pakistan's banned pacer
Mohammad Asif believes the PCB did
not do enough to save him and two
other banned players -- Salman Butt
and Mohammad Aamer -- from the
punishment handed down to them for
spot-fixing by the ICC's anti-corruption
tribunal.
"I am not blaming the PCB for what
happened but certainly they and even
the government could have done more
to save us from such a long ban," Asif
said on 'Geo TV'.
"If the Board wanted, they could have
stepped in when the spot fixing
scandal broke out and handled things
themselves. They should have sent us
home immediately and then tried us
themselves instead of allowing the ICC
to take charge," Asif said.
He also felt that the Pakistan
government did not play a pro-active
in dealing with the whole issue.
"I know there are regulations and
other things that could have been used
by the government to fly us back to
Pakistan and then have us face the
music at home instead of being left at
the mercy of the ICC tribunal," he
said.
Throughout the show, Asif, 28, who
took 106 wickets in 23 Tests, kept
hinting he should not have been
punished.
The three Pakistani players were
banned for a minimum of five years by
the ICC tribunal last February on
charges of spot-fixing during the fourth
Test against England at Lord's last
year.
The ICC suspended the trio few days
after the defunct 'News of the World'
tabloid broke the story about the trio
being involved with their Pakistani
agent Mazhar Majeed in fixing issues
during the series.
Asif admitted that he had made some
mistakes but felt the five year ban was
too heavy a price to pay.
"I can't say more on this because I
have appealed against the ban and
also in October I am hopeful that the
case will be dismissed and I can get
back to playing cricket," he said.
Asif and his two other teammates are
due to appear again in a London
magistrate court to face charges of
corruption and cheating brought
against them by the crown
prosecutor's office in the United
Kingdom as a fall out of the spot fixing
scandal.
Asif said he had still not given up hope
of playing for Pakistan again.
"I don't know but the situation can
change very quickly and I think
October will be important to my case.
But I am carrying on training and even
practicing because I know the
comeback chance to international
cricket could come," he said.
Asked about the various controversies
that have dogged him including the
19-day detention at the Dubai airport
for possession of a banned substance,
Asif reiterated he had not taken any
drugs.
"I had a herbal medicine with me that
contained percentage of opium and
that got me into trouble but now I can
go to Dubai as there is no bar on me
from travelling there," he said.
The lanky pace bowler conceded that
not being able to play any cricket was
a big punishment for him.
"Because my life revolves around
cricket and not being able to play the
game is very punishing indeed," he
said.
KARACHI: Pakistan's banned pacer
Mohammad Asif believes the PCB did
not do enough to save him and two
other banned players -- Salman Butt
and Mohammad Aamer -- from the
punishment handed down to them for
spot-fixing by the ICC's anti-corruption
tribunal.
"I am not blaming the PCB for what
happened but certainly they and even
the government could have done more
to save us from such a long ban," Asif
said on 'Geo TV'.
"If the Board wanted, they could have
stepped in when the spot fixing
scandal broke out and handled things
themselves. They should have sent us
home immediately and then tried us
themselves instead of allowing the ICC
to take charge," Asif said.
He also felt that the Pakistan
government did not play a pro-active
in dealing with the whole issue.
"I know there are regulations and
other things that could have been used
by the government to fly us back to
Pakistan and then have us face the
music at home instead of being left at
the mercy of the ICC tribunal," he
said.
Throughout the show, Asif, 28, who
took 106 wickets in 23 Tests, kept
hinting he should not have been
punished.
The three Pakistani players were
banned for a minimum of five years by
the ICC tribunal last February on
charges of spot-fixing during the fourth
Test against England at Lord's last
year.
The ICC suspended the trio few days
after the defunct 'News of the World'
tabloid broke the story about the trio
being involved with their Pakistani
agent Mazhar Majeed in fixing issues
during the series.
Asif admitted that he had made some
mistakes but felt the five year ban was
too heavy a price to pay.
"I can't say more on this because I
have appealed against the ban and
also in October I am hopeful that the
case will be dismissed and I can get
back to playing cricket," he said.
Asif and his two other teammates are
due to appear again in a London
magistrate court to face charges of
corruption and cheating brought
against them by the crown
prosecutor's office in the United
Kingdom as a fall out of the spot fixing
scandal.
Asif said he had still not given up hope
of playing for Pakistan again.
"I don't know but the situation can
change very quickly and I think
October will be important to my case.
But I am carrying on training and even
practicing because I know the
comeback chance to international
cricket could come," he said.
Asked about the various controversies
that have dogged him including the
19-day detention at the Dubai airport
for possession of a banned substance,
Asif reiterated he had not taken any
drugs.
"I had a herbal medicine with me that
contained percentage of opium and
that got me into trouble but now I can
go to Dubai as there is no bar on me
from travelling there," he said.
The lanky pace bowler conceded that
not being able to play any cricket was
a big punishment for him.
"Because my life revolves around
cricket and not being able to play the
game is very punishing indeed," he
said.
