LAHORE: A turning point came in the case of former Test captain Salim Malik concerning his suspect role in a transcript provided by the ICC to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) when the independent adjudicator retired Justice Fazal Miran Chouhan held the second hearing here on Monday.

Talking to media after the hearing, Salim and his lawyer Saood Cheema claimed that for the first time the PCB had produced the original ICC letter on the basis of which this case against Salim of having a negative role in a transcript — recorded in 2000 — was made.

Surprisingly, PCB’s lawyer Taffazul Rizvi did not talk with the media to counter the claim made by Salim and his lawyer. However, Dawn learnt through reliable sources that though the ICC had not verified the transcripts with original cassettes, the PCB had done it on its own back in 2013. Taffazul, sources added, had also submitted the verified transcript with original cassettes to the adjudicator.

The ICC letter produced by the PCB for the first time says transcript is not authentic

“The PCB has already provided me with the transcript, but not the original cassettes. I had not accepted the transcript as it is a pack of lies. And now the ICC letter, which was presented by the PCB for the first time before the adjudicator, also mentions that it [transcript] has no authenticity,” the 57-year-old Salim told the media.

“A good discussion was held at the [case] hearing and now I hope that the decision [to be announced in the next 15 days] will come in my favour,” he added. “I believe finally the fight for justice will end in my favour.”

The former skipper, who appeared in 103 Tests and 283 ODIs from 1982 to 1999, said the adjudicator did not give any remarks over his case during the hearing and kept the decision pending for 15 days.

Salim, one of the most successful Pakistan captains, was banned from all cricket activities in the year 2000 after a one-man judicial commission of retired Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum recommended a life ban on him in a betting and match-fixing scandal involving a number of Pakistan cricketers of that time. Later, the player won his case against the ban from a civil court in 2008.

When former chairman PCB Ijaz Butt appointed Salim as chief coach at the National Cricket Academy in 2008, the decision was withdrawn the same day after reportedly the ICC raised its objections over PCB’s decision.

In 2011, the PCB received a transcript from the ICC, as Salim continued his fight to get his name cleared from all the allegations.

On whether the PCB was deliberately creating hurdles in his way to stop him from re-entering into cricket-related activities, Salim said, “Obviously, for the last 20 years I have been fighting for my right but they are pushing me from one side to another. But [still] I am fighting to clear all the allegations and I hope by now many things have been cleared and the decision will come in my favour.”

Earlier, Saood said the ICC letter surfaced for the first time, which clearly mentioned that the world governing body had no authenticity about the cassettes.

The PCB kept silent as neither its lawyer Taffazul talked to the media nor its official spokesman responded to the claim made by Salim regarding the content of the ICC letter.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2020