KARACHI, May 25: Troubled Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf will fight to clear his name in an ongoing spot-fixing scandal in India, family sources said on Saturday, saying he had returned to his home in Lahore.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) this week withdrew the 57-year-old umpire from next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in England in the wake of media reports that he was under police investigation.

Mumbai police on Friday refused to confirm whether Asad would be called in for questioning, as media outlets in India and Pakistan tried to track the umpire down.

Asad’s family said he returned to his home in Lahore a few days ago.

“Asad has nothing to hide, he reached Lahore after completing his matches in the league [in India],” a family source told AFP without elaborating.

The ICC has said it felt it was in “Asad’s best interests as well as those of the sport and the event itself” for him to no longer participate in the Champions Trophy.

Family sources said the umpire will fight to clear his name.

“Asad is disappointed that he was not given a chance to clear his name and was excluded from the Champions Trophy but once his name is cleared he will resume his career in the game he loves,” said the source.

“Asad is bound [not to speak to the media] by the ICC code of conduct so he will speak at an appropriate time.”

Pakistan Cricket Board has distanced itself from Asad’s case, saying the event was held in India and Asad was officiating as an ICC umpire.

But PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf confirmed action would be taken against the umpire if the ICC asks for any such step.

In Lahore, Asad’s brother Adnan dismissed the allegations and said the umpire would prevail.

“I have not met up with him yet, but nobody has levelled any allegations against him. Even the Mumbai police has not called him for interrogation, so he will face everyone,” Adnan told reporters. “I will myself tell him to face media, face everyone.”

Rahim Ali, a neighbour of Asad, said media outlets in India were to blame for pulling him into the scandal.

“It’s Indian media’s propaganda. Last year also his name was dragged in a scandal but he was cleared and he umpired in the IPL again,” said Ali, referring to Asad’s alleged affair with Bollywood model Leena Kapoor.—AFP

Our Sports Reporter in Lahore adds: Meanwhile, Shahzad Ahmed, one of Asad’s relatives, defended Asad saying he had a clean character and had done nothing wrong in the IPL. Experts are of the opinion that the ICC will have to come out with some justification for sidelining Asad from the forthcoming Champions Trophy.

Earlier this year, another Pakistani umpire Nadeem Ghauri who worked on the ICC panel was suspended by the PCB for being involved in unfair practices in the game.