Need to catch bigger culprits: Latif
Posted on May 13, 2008 at 20:51 | Updated May 14, 2008 at 11:29
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Tags: cricket, pakistan, rashid latif
Karachi: Former Pakistan captain and whistle-blower on the match-fixing racket, Rashid Latif has reacted cautiously to the West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels facing the two-year ban, saying the International Cricket Council needed to net the big fish to eradicate corruption from the sport.
Samuels faces a two-year ban for violating the ICC Code of Conduct on match-fixing and gambling during the tour to India in January 2007.
He is the first cricketer to face ban for match-fixing related offences since the ICC and its member boards carried out a sweeping inquiry into the fixing scandal in 2000 which led to life bans on three former captains - Hansie Cronje, Salim Malik and Mohammad Azharuddin - and fines and bans on other players.
Latif, who played a key role in exposing the match fixing racket within Pakistan cricket, said the ICC and its member boards still needed to go after the big names.
"So far, we have seen only players banned or fined for such offences. But never any of those people who were involved in spreading corruption in the sport," he told PTI.
"Samuels is a prime example. They have banned him but what about the person who made contact with him and gave him money. Doesn't the ICC have information about him?"
Latif claimed even when Malik and others were banned for life, the ICC and its member boards had preferred to cover up some big names to save the image of the sport as they perceived it.
"I know of people who were allegedly involved in corruption but the authorities kept quiet. No big bookmaker has been arrested or charged as yet. While it is fine to ban players but this is not going to eradicate this menace completely from cricket," Latif said.
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