Imran Khan fears spot-fixing 'more than imagined'

Former Pakistan captain says it is impossible to gauge the extent to which spot-fixing has spread worldwide.

NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan on Friday said that it is impossible to gauge the extent to which spot-fixing has spread worldwide and wants the International Cricket Council (ICC) to use innovative methods to investigate the whole issue and not limit it to only his country.

"If what News of The World [newspaper] has uncovered is spot fixing, then I am afraid it could be a lot more than what you could imagine because, clearly, it wasn't the ICC investigations that uncovered these allegations. So, God knows how much of this goes on?" Imran told Headlines Today in an interview Friday in New Delhi.

The World Cup-winning captain feels if it is proved that Pakistani players were actually involved in spot fixing in the series against England, they should be punished to set an example.

"How can anyone tell whether someone has bowled no balls after being paid money or it's an accident? In my opinion, there has to be a worldwide investigation into this because it could be widespread. It is impossible to detect. ICC has to come up with innovative ways of finding it out. If Pakistani players are involved, they must be punished," he said.

Asked specifically on allegations against some Pakistani players, Imran declined to jump the gun. "These are still allegations and a case is still going on. Natural justice demands that you are innocent until proven guilty. That's why I am waiting for the verdict," he averred.

Kapil Dev, who led India to 1983 World Cup title, felt ICC should properly channelize its resources to check corruption in the game. "This World Cup (to be held in south Asia in February - April) will be very important for ICC. It should play its role very carefully and very strongly. I personally would like to see Pakistan cricket come up. Whatever happened in last six or eight months, we have pointed fingers on Pakistan," he said.

"But if ICC spends right amount of time and money, these things can be sorted out. The authorities who are handling this and are deeply involved 24 hours (a day), they should see this as a challenge and say ' why things have landed up this far'. More important is that ICC put together its heads and say, 'we've to rectify everything with it'."

Arjuna Ranatunga, who captained Sri Lanka to the world title in 1996 and was part of the discussion, suggested ICC should involve former cricketers of integrity to assess corruption in the game. "I personally feel that they (ICC's Anti-Corruption & Security Unit sleuths) should go and see matches personally, ball by ball, and see what's happening. ACSU is run by top cops and they don't know anything about cricket. You need to involve proper, honest cricketers to get them analyse these things," he said.

"When cricketers say something, they will probably mean that there's something fishy. But a cop will maybe go and check their bank balances. You need to involve honest, proper cricketers who they (match fixers) won't be able to buy. That's the easiest way to stop this [malaise]."

Imran felt Pakistan is not just confronting spot fixing charges, but its entire cricket setup needs to be overhauled.

"Unfortunately, it's way cricket is run. President of the country appoints cricket board chairman and that's where things going wrong. The only qualification for chairman is that President likes him and he's accountable to no one. Basically, it's ad hoc basis on which the team is run," he said.

"The moment team loses, there's pressure on team. He (board president) wants to do something... sacks captain. We had five different captains in one year. You can't have stability in team if captains keep changing."

Asked if he was right person to head the cricket board, Imran was sure his political opponents won't let him clean the system. "I know what problems are in Pakistan. And I know if I am put in that position, I will not be able to function properly. I have political opponents in Pakistan and they would like to see me fail and would not let me succeed," he said.

Kapil was for Imran heading the board and even said "80%" of Pakistan cricket’s problems would vanish if he was at helm of cricketing affairs. Ranatunga disagreed and cited his own case to illustrate how politicians interfere in board's working in the subcontinent. "Imran can't sort out PCB. I couldn't sort out Sri Lankan cricket and I was there only for 11 months. I tried to stop corruption and tried to set cricket right and I was thrown out by a minister who was the most corrupt in the country," he alleged.

On Pakistan's prospects at the World Cup, Imran felt if pacers Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir are cleared of spot fixing charges, it would boost the team's chances. "If they play, Pakistan's chances go up. They are outstanding. They are sort of bowlers who will get early wickets. There are two ways of winning one-day matches - one is by containing runs, other is by taking wickets. They can get wickets. That would give Pakistan a chance."