Pakistani wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider broke his silence on Wednesday night saying that if the International Cricket Council (ICC) wants to eradicate match-fixing from international cricket, it will need to start monitoring the phone conversations of all international players and tracking their activities off the pitch.
“The best way is to record all the players’ phones and record where they are going,” Haider was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Refusing to reveal any names, Haider said: “I don’t want to blame anyone, I don’t want to be negative to anyone. A lot of people are involved in match-fixing. I am willing to co-operate fully with the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. Whether I play cricket or not, I just want cricket to be clear of fixing.”
Haider maintained that the threat that had been made to him before the fourth ODI against South Africa. He was warned by a bookmaker he had never met before that, if he did not help fix that match and the one that followed it, then he would not play for Pakistan again.
“I was told: ‘If you work with us, we will give you a lot of money. If not, we will not select you again in cricket and, if you go back home, we will kill you and your family.'”
Haider invited the police to investigate his accounts to prove that the allegations were not true. He also confirmed that he had been approached by bookmakers when he was captain of the Lahore Eagles in 2009 and that they had tried to insist he select certain players for particular matches.
Haider confirmed that he had applied for temporary asylum in the UK, though he says he “does want any aid from the British government”.
Haider also met Pakistani High Commissioner to discuss his application and the security arrangements for his wife and two daughters in Lahore. The Pakistani Cricket Board have suspended his playing contract, and Haider says that he now plans to play league cricket to earn his living.