Mohammad Hafeez has said that Pakistan‘s greats of the 90s were responsible for “damaging” cricket in the country, accusing them of match-fixing, backbiting and lobbying during their playing time.

Speaking about the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, which had far-reaching consequences, Hafeez told the Ultra Edge Podcast that the roots were planted long before the infamous Test at Lord’s. Without naming anyone, he said multiple great players from the 1990s drove fans away due to their illicit activities.

“This incident happened in 2010, but it wasn’t the first time. The roots for this grew long back. Unfortunately, they were never addressed. Unfortunately, it’s Pakistan’s system and its people forgot it. They were able to let it slide. If you give a bad thing another chance, it comes back later. And strikes much harder.”

The 2010 spot-fixing scandal occurred during the England-Pakistan Test at Lord’s, with three Pakistan players  – Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif – being convicted of accepting bribes from a bookmaker to deliberately bowl no-balls in the Test.

“Before the 2010 episode, there was also a period that had a lot of illicit activities by the 90s players. Several of these iconic 90s names – they think of themselves as greats – they are, I respect them for all the good they have done. But they also did a lot of wrongs.”

“If you go look into their 90s career, it was filled with fights, backbiting, match-fixing and lobbying. The roots of all this – which drove fans away – were laid by the 90s player. They were super talented, no doubt, but their super talent put them away from discipline and right ambassadorship. They couldn’t portray the best image of Pakistan Cricket to the world. They didn’t leave behind a great legacy that we followed.

“If you look at the talent of the 90s players and compare their achievements, you won’t see anything. After the 1992 World Cup, what great things did the 90s players achieve? The roots started somewhere, the 2010 incident just blew up but it started way back.”

You can watch the clip here:

 

 

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Pakistan CricketMohammad Hafeez