Cricket Blog: Corruption, Death Threats And Deceit Force Pakistan Wicket Keeper to Flee to Britain

“If you work with us we’ll give you a lot of money, if not and you go back home we will kill you and your family”. Sadly, these words were not taken from a second rate spy novel, but were instead spoken by Pakistan wicket keeper Zulqarnain Haider upon arrival in the UK after fleeing from the Pakistan squad in Dubai last week. Haider was providing details to journalists about the approach he received from a Dubai bookmaker who offered him excessive amounts of money in exchange for fixing the 4th and 5th ODI’s against South Africa. Haider played in the 4th ODI and hit the winning runs before leaving the squad and flying to the UK in fear of his personal safety. Many people have criticised Haider for the way he has acted because he did not seek protection from either the International Cricket Council (ICC) or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), but I believe that he is nothing more than a desperate man who wasn’t sure who to turn to in order to guarantee his own safety.

The fact that Haider felt the need to flee to the UK surely speaks volumes about the state that Pakistan cricket finds itself in. Pakistani players are massively underpaid in comparison with players from other nations, so it is no wonder that they are so susceptible to illegal approaches from bookmakers. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story. At least five Pakistani players have supposedly received approaches from bookmakers looking to make money through match fixing this year alone, and three are currently under investigation from Scotland Yard on grounds of corruption.

It is easy to brand the players who succumb to the pressure from the bookmakers and match fixers as nothing more than cheats who are looking to use their positions as international cricketers to make money, but in the case of Pakistan the problems run far deeper. The Haider saga shows that players feel unprotected by the PCB and are therefore left with no option but to comply with bookmakers or leave the game altogether. To be honest, I can think of very few people who would risk their own life and the lives of their family by refusing to bowl a no-ball or drop a catch at a certain point during a game of cricket. Haider’s refusal to comply shows enormous bravery and courage and he should be applauded for it.

So where now for Zulqarnain Haider and Pakistan cricket? Haider has been formally suspended by the PCB, an action which as far as I’m concerned shows naivety and a lack of sensitivity towards the whole situation, and is therefore unlikely to play international cricket again. He stated in an interview with the BBC that he has applied for asylum in the UK and wants to play league cricket alongside helping young cricketers develop. However, I believe that Haider could be a fundamental lynchpin in the ICC’s fight against corruption in cricket. He is someone who has been inside the Pakistan setup and can help the ICC identify how and why it is so easy for bookmakers to become intertwined with Pakistani cricketers.

As for Pakistan, well I seriously believe that they are bordering on the edge of receiving an ICC ban from all forms of the game. This would be a travesty because cricket is better off with a vibrant Pakistani team as part of the game, but if people’s lives are being put at risk and the ICC feel like the reputation of the game is being jeopardised then they may interject. Whatever happens, corruption seems to be growing within the game and it needs to be stopped at all costs.

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