Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net on the claims by Hawkins, Zaka Ashraf stated that he was not in a position to respond to allegations that the match in Mohali may have been fixed, as he was not the Chairman of the Board at the time.

By Saj Sadiq (12th November 2012)

On Sunday the Board of Control for Cricket in India rubbished fresh claims that the 2011 World Cup semi final between India and Pakistan in Mohali could have been fixed, saying such a suggestion was an insult to the Indian team, which had worked hard for the victory. 

Ed Hawkins, a British sports-betting journalist in his yet to be launched book raised doubts that the authenticity of the match between the two arch-rivals which, he claims, may have been fixed in excerpts from his book that were published in the Daily Mail. 

However BCCI President N Srinavasan dismissed the claims stating "I don't generally comment on such newspaper reports but this is the farthest from the truth. And it is an insult to the Indian team which worked hard to win.”

Meanwhile, the then Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman (PCB) Ijaz Butt said he would like to see the PCB take up the issue with the ICC stating "I am no longer the Chairman and it is not right for me to say anything now but I think the current Chairman should take up this issue with the ICC. My suggestion would be that the matter should be investigated. There were a lot of allegations in Indian newspapers and even in Pakistani newspapers but there was no investigation.”

Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net on the claims by Hawkins, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Zaka Ashraf stated that he was not in a position to respond to allegations that the match in Mohali may have been fixed, as he was not the Chairman of the Board at the time and that Ijaz Butt was in a better position to speak about why an investigation into the World Cup semi final was not launched.

“I’ve seen the claims by the journalist, but I was not the Chairman at the time of the match in Mohali. I think it’s best if my predecessor Ijaz Butt responds to the claims about that match as he was the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board back then and he will surely know what went on before the match, what occurred after the match and what dialogues there were with various parties and why an investigation was not launched shortly after the match.”

Responding to Ijaz Butt’s request for an investigation into the match on 30th March 2011, Ashraf’s response was forthright in that he felt that if an investigation should have been launched into the match in Mohali, then it should have been instigated by Ijaz Butt during his tenure.

“I read the comments about an investigation by the former Chairman (Ijaz Butt) with great interest. I'm surprised that Ijaz (Butt) is calling for an investigation now, if Mr Butt is so keen for an investigation to occur now, why has he waited to say this after such a long time, why did the investigation not happen under his Chairmanship of the Pakistan Cricket Board? After all he was still in charge of the Pakistan Cricket Board for more than six months after the match in Mohali. Butt could have initiated an enquiry the very next month after the match in Mohali, if he had wanted to."

Meanwhile Former ICC President Ehsan Mani stated "I think there is nothing wrong in holding an inquiry again into the allegations and in this course the publishers and writer must be asked to collaborate their sensational claims with evidence."

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