LAHORE, April 5: Pakistan will ask the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a code of conduct to prevent former cricketers from making match-fixing allegations without substantial evidence.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Ramiz Raja said on Monday a letter would be sent to the ICC this week asking for the issue to be put on the agenda of the next executive board meeting of the sport's governing body.
"We want the ICC to put in place a code for former players and officials who tend to cause a lot of damage by making match-fixing allegations against a team without evidence," he said.
The Pakistan board has asked its disciplinary committee to look into possible action against former captain Rashid Latif, who hinted that Pakistan had intentionally lost the fourth One-day International against India last month.
"Even a common man could observe that the players were acting on a script because the body language of the players was not as it should have been," Rashid said on the local Indus television channel.
Rashid, who had first made match-fixing charges against some of his team mates in 1995 during a tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa, has denied making any direct allegations this time. "I have only expressed my suspicions," he said.
Ramiz said making serious allegations without proof was upsetting for the players. "That's why we want to involve the ICC in this matter. This is a serious issue and needs to be tackled because it's causing damage to the image of cricketers and the sport," he said.
Former Pakistan captain Salim Malik was banned for life and five other players were fined by a judicial inquiry commission in early 2000 after 18 months of inquiry based on match-fixing allegations made by Rashid and some other Pakistan cricketers. All the players have denied any wrongdoing. -Reuters
