Spot-fixing: Pak youngsters following in tainted trio's footsteps

Islamabad, August 21(ANI): Teenage cricket lovers in Pakistan are following in the footsteps of the tainted trio- Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir- who are currently serving a ban from all types of cricket for their involvement in last year's spot-fixing scandal. Fixing matches, or at least placing bets on them as a series of festival tournaments take place across the country, is not new, but the act being carried out on the streets has become a favourite pastime for many, The Express Tribune reports. While betting- placing money on their predicted winner- is common, cash for underperformance has now hit the streets. Numair Ali, a cricket fan and a player, agreed that the involvement of Butt, Asif and Amir played a huge role in popularising spot-fixing and getting the Pakistani youth involved in it, even if it is for recreational purpose. "The saga was when we got introduced to the word spot-fixing and only came to know much about it after the trio was caught," Numair, 18, said. "We're having a lot of fun by betting on each delivery. One of my senior teammates used to bet on different deliveries by taking the bowler into confidence and I also enjoyed it on my first attempt," he told the paper. He said that normally, they (spot-fixers) ask the bowler to bowl a loose delivery and place money on that ball being hit for a four or a six. "We also bet on a wide or a no-ball but that is quite rare. Betting on a run-out - where a player traps his partner - is another popular part of this practice," he added. Numair, however, sought to clarify that it was not money that forced him to take up this hobby. "Such bets don't involve huge amounts. In our group, we don't bet more than a thousand rupees and sometimes, it's just a bottle of drink that is used as bets. We only do it for fun and it is gaining popularity," he maintained. Meanwhile, Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) President Sirajul Islam Bokhari said he believed that although such offences were unlikely to have any impact at a higher level, they still needed to be condemned. "I have yet to see it happen at club or domestic level. But if it's being committed on the streets, it should be discouraged because youngsters should be raised with a clean frame of mind," he stated. (ANI)