Players Fixed Before Me, Even After Me; Should Have Got Second Chance: Mohammad Asif Slams PCB

Asif was handed a 7 year ban for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal during Pakistan’s tour of England, where he bowled deliberate no balls for money.

Mohammad Asif

  New Delhi: Tainted former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), slamming their partial and unfair treatment rendered to him as against his fellow national team mates who were also found guilty of spot fixing, but were given a second opportunity to play for the nation. The banned Pakistani speedster said that he wasn’t the first cricketer nor would be the last to have indulged in spot-fixing and should have been treated better by his nation's Cricket Board, which gave “everyone a second chance” except for him. Asif was handed a 7 year ban for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal during Pakistan’s tour of England, where he bowled deliberate no balls for money. He also served jail time in the UK after being found guilty along with Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt. Asif said he should have got a second chance like many others, whom he did not name. “Everyone makes mistakes and I did too. Players had been indulging in fixing before me and even after me. But those before me are working with PCB and there are few after me still playing,” Asif told ‘ESPNCricinfo’. “Everyone was given a second chance and there are few who never got the same treatment (as me). PCB never tried to save me regardless of the fact that I am the kind of bowler who was highly regarded by everyone in the world. “But anyway I’m not sitting around brooding about the past or hung up on it.” Asif said he takes pride in the performances he dished out in his limited career. “However much I played in my career, I made it count, duniya hila ke rakh di thi (I shook up the world). That is more important for me to think about. Even today, so many years later, the best batsmen in the world still remember me and they talk about me. “Just think how big the impact was that I had on the world. So this is what makes me proud – that there is a reason KP, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla talk highly about me. That is what makes me happy.” The 37-year-old, who also failed a dope test in 2006 and served a one year suspension for it, admitted that he “should have behaved better off the field”. “That is where I had issues. I want to give the kids this message that when you cross the boundary line into the field, your ambition should be to do well for yourself and for your team.” “I was selfish as a bowler because I wanted to take wickets, and that was to help the team win. Being selfish isn’t bad if you’re playing your part for the team,” he said.