Former PCB CEO demands end to ban on Salim Malik following Azhar`s acquittal

Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board`s (PCB) former CEO Arif Ali Khan Abbasi has welcomed an Indian court decision to overturn the life ban on former Indian skipper Azharuddin for alleged match fixing, and said that the decision had proved that cricketers could not be punished for wrong doing just on circumstantial evidence.

The Nation quoted Abbasi, as saying that there was no difference between the allegations levelled against Azharuddin and former Pakistan skipper Salim Malik, as both were punished circumstantial evidence. In Abbasi`s opinion, Malik deserves an apology and compensation for alleged wrongdoing. Abbasi said he had always been of the opinion that punishing a player without any concrete proof was legally weak reason to ban a player. He said when three Australians accused Malik for offering them money for throwing Karachi Test, he had out-rightly dismissed those allegations because Pakistan lost that Test and there was no evidence of any wrongdoing. He said South African Hansie Cronje was rightly punished because he personally accepted that he was involved in match fixing and provided the evidence. Similarly, Salman Butt, Md Asif and Md Amir were all caught allegedly with their pants down. However, there was no comparison between Malik and the three Pakistanis who were conclusively found to have allegedly taken money for fixing deliveries, Abbasi maintained. ANI