London: The International Cricket Council (ICC) may now investigate Pakistan players Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz following the conviction of their former team-mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif in the spot-fixing trial, thwe Daily Telegraph reports.
The investigation into Mohammad Amir, Butt and Asif, who were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, could form the basis of a fresh anti-corruption probe looking into the claims made in court against wicketkeeper Akmal and left-arm fast bowler Riaz, the newspaper said.
“The ICC will examine closely evidence gathered by police officers in London who investigated the fixing case involving three Pakistan cricketers.
“Both were mentioned on several occasions during the case, linked to scams organised by Mazher Majeed. Akmal’s name also crops up in correspondence between the agent and his fixing contacts around the world in evidence collated by police from earlier stages of the tour,” the report reads.
Majeed also told an undercover journalist he had seven members of the team in on his fixes.
Butt, Amir, Asif, Umar, Akmal, Riaz and Imran Farhat were all named in court on recordings of Majeed talking to Mazher Mahmood from the News of the World.
Aftab Jafferjee, QC for the prosecution, said the roles of “Wahab Riaz and Kamran Akmal raise deep, deep suspicions.”
Butt and Asif were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments by a criminal court, for fixing part of the Lord’s Test last year. The third accused, 19-year-old pacer Aamir, who was also involved in the conspiracy, did not face trial as he had pleaded guilty.
Interestingly, Akmal and Riaz were among the seven Pakistani cricketers, whose names appeared on recordings during the conversation between alleged bookie Majeed and the undercover reporter of the News of the World, which broke the scandal. (Agencies)