KARACHI Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani said Wednesday match and spot-fixing in Pakistan should be criminalised, just as it was in Sri Lanka, Australia, and New Zealand. In a statement, PCB Chairperson Ehsan Mani said that it was important for cricket-playing nations to have laws against the menace of fixing in sports so that any such incidents could be properly investigated. “One thing should be very clear: there should be zero tolerance on such offences,” Mani said. “We have been following what ICC rules are but we lack what other countries have done to curb fixing and that’s criminalisation of corruption in sports.” Former captain Rashid Latif had last week urged the government to legislate on match-fixing and join countries such as Sri Lanka, Australia, and New Zealand. The UK, too, deals with fixing offences under its bribery laws. The PCB chief said he was a proponent of the idea and has “already spoken to the government earlier on this and will go again stressing to make laws against fixing in corruption”. “We don’t have legal authority to call witnesses or seek bank details but if we make laws against this then it will make it easy to investigate by agencies,” he explained. Commenting on debate around the possible return of Sharjeel Khan, the PCB boss said he would not comment on any individual but noted that anyone who completed their suspension should get the opportunity to prove themselves again. He said the rehabilitation of tainted players would also help proliferate the message against match fixing. “Such players can also tell others that how harmful it was for them to get involved in corrupt practices,” he said. However, Mani made it clear that “a player can make a comeback only on the basis of their performance and fitness”.—APP
