A Pakistani journalist has claimed that former coach Javed Miandad had prior information that the country would lose to one of the weaker teams in the league matches of the 1999 World Cup.
A lady cricket correspondent, working for one of the Pakistani newspapers in Islamabad, sent a letter yesterday to the Justice Karamat Bhandari Commission, probing match-fixing allegations, stating that Miandad expressed his suspicions about the team losing either to Scotland or Bangladesh prior to the tournament. In her letter, excerpts of which were published in the daily the `Dawn` in Islamabad on Sunday, the journalist said Pakistan`s match against Bangladesh was fixed and Miandad had told her the result of the match. She also said that another journalist colleague also quoted Miandad`s statements in his story.
She alleged that by losing to Bangladesh, Pakistan had compensated the bookies for the losses suffered when Pakistan lost to England in Sharjah Cup held months before World Cup. She said after the Sharjah Cup, Miandad was sacked as coach because he had developed differences with the team members on the issue of match-fixing. Miandad and the then captain Moin Khan also had a heated exchange over the matter, the contents of the letter revealed. The journalist had been asked to testify before the commission as she was the first to predict that Pakistan would lose a World Cup match to either Scotland or Bangladesh. Top cricketers including Wasim Akram had earlier vehememtly denied the allegations in their testimonies before the Commission.
Bureau Report