Lahore:  Reacting to fast bowler Mohammad Amir's return to the national side, former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja said he has "no forgiveness" in his book for those involved in match fixing.

"My opinion on this is very simple. While sympathy may exist for him [Amir], in my book there is no forgiveness. If God forbid my son was to engage in such actions, I would disown him," the veteran cricketer said while speaking on a private news channel. His remarks came after Amir, who called time on his international career in 2020 following issues with the then-management of the PCB, retracted his retirement from international cricket and joined the Pakistani squad in its ongoing physical fitness camp at Pakistan Army's Kakul facility. Recalling his experience as a commentator when the spot-fixing scandal came to light, Raja said: "I remember the time when these players did fixing because I was doing commentary at Lord's [cricket ground]. People hated me because I was being identified with the fixers, in their opinion, and I can never forget the criticism we faced on media."

It is pertinent to know that the left-arm pacer was banned from international cricket for five years by the International Cricket Council (ICC) along with Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt, in a spot-fixing case in 2010. The then-teenager Amir also served half of a six-month custodial sentence in young offenders institutes in Feltham and Dorset. After marking his return in 2016, the 31-year-old who has appeared in 6 Tests, 61 ODIs and 50 T20s for Pakistan helped the Green Shirts win the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 where Men in Green bamboozled the arch-rivals India in the final by 180 runs.

Published in The Daily National Courier, April, 08 2024

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