KARACHI, Oct 22: Former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz Monday has appealed to Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf to throw match-fixers out of the Pakistan team.

“Since General Musharraf is also the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board I appeal to him that all match-fixers be thrown out of the team,” Nawaz told SADA.

Nawaz told an inquiry commission that Pakistan threw matches in the 1999 World Cup and that he had informed the concerned authorities about it before the matches.

“If the PCB forms a team of youngsters they would mature before the next World Cup to be held in two years. The current players would be of no use as they would be over the hill by 2003,” he said.

“Abdul Hafeez Kardar threw all the players out of the team when they joined the Kerry Packer Circus in the late ‘70s and President Ziaul Haq backed him.”

“The PCB should not be scared of forming a young team, at least it would be a clean team.”

Nawaz said that the players had contradicted the claims of Pakistan team manager’s during last Saturday’s hearing. “The Pakistan manager in the World Cup 1999 had said that the pitch used in the match against Bangladesh was not good while the players termed the pitch as normal.”

Pakistan’s two defeats in the World Cup held in England two years ago are the focus of a match-fixing inquiry conducted by Justice Karamat Bhandari of the Lahore High Court.

“I would back Inzamam-ul Haq’s assertion that all players against whom match-fixing allegations are leveled should not be included in the team until they are cleared,” Nawaz said.—SADA