March 22, 1999

Sarfaraz Nawaz's unsubstantiated claim that Gavaskar was involved in fixing matches finds few takers.

By Abdul Waheed Khan and Rohit Brijnath

Every man who ever walked a cricket field in the subcontinent has a story to tell about match-fixing. Who speaks the truth? Who carries a grudge? Who has the proof? Increasingly it is becoming impossible to tell. Good men's names are being besmirched, and dishonourable men allowed to go scot-free. The issue will not die. And if cricket bosses in Pakistan and India believe this disease will just go away by adopting delaying tactics and without a proper inquiry, several events in the past one week show they are mistaken.

If the former Pakistan bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz, "live" on Star Sports, stunned viewers by casually naming Sunil Gavaskar and Asif Iqbal as responsible for betting and match-fixing (so what if he offered no proof), former captains Aamer Sohail and Rashid Latif remain relentless in their efforts to prove to the Pakistan Judicial Commission that what they are saying is true. That match-fixing is a reality in international cricket.

Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum, head of the Judicial Commission in Pakistan, has said he's convinced some players were involved in fixing matches and that he would recommend a life ban on them for selling the honour of their country. His task may be made easier. For Latif says he has audio-tape recordings of conversations between some Pakistan players and bookies, and of board officials pleading with him (Latif) not to play up this issue as it would bring a bad name to Pakistan. Sohail too has been in touch with the commission, demanding a hearing. He claims that Pakistan Board Chairman Khalid Mehmood asked him to withdraw all the charges he has made against Wasim Akram if he wanted to play cricket again. Though Mehmood has strongly denied this and called Sohail a compulsive liar, Sohail is persisting with his claims, insisting he can substantiate them. He has now asked the board patron, who is the Pakistani President, to ask his nominated chairman for an explanation.

Despite this background it was bizarre to hear Sarfaraz say on television that "Asif and Gavaskar were openly involved in match fixing". The eccentric fast bowler claimed that during the 1979 Test in Bombay, the "wicket was wet ... the pitch was not fit to play ... Many of the Pakistani batsmen complained, they didn't want to bat. But Asif and Gavaskar agreed".

Why Sarfaraz was interviewed live is questionable considering his reputation -- this is a man who said Imran Khan was a Jewish agent. That Gavaskar refused to conduct the interview and Ravi Shastri was reluctant should have been warning enough. More alarming was that minutes prior to the interview, Sarfaraz asked if it would be recorded and shown. When told it was "live" he seemed surprised and asked about "liability". The producer replied that he (Sarfaraz) would be responsible for what he said. It was clear he had something up his sleeve.

It was too late. Expectedly, Gavaskar was livid and called Sarfaraz the "scum of the earth". Two days later, Gavaskar, a cricketing monument in this country and untouched by any betting scandal so far, was more composed. "Looking at his credibility I should have laughed at the matter rather than react the way I did." He was also buoyed by the response he received after the incident. "The Pakistan Television crew came and apologised, so did stewards on the Pakistan International Airlines flight ... it was overwhelming." Asif's response was, "I don't wish to comment as it will give those statements dignity." Yet he was surprised, for as he explained Sarfaraz was not even on the 1979-80 tour.

The Mumbai Test of 1979, won by India, was only marginally touched by controversy. As umpire K.B. Ramaswamy who stood in that match recalls, "The pitch was covered, but on the third or fourth day, I can't remember which, there were one or two tiny patches of moisture on the pitch. Asif said the pitch had been watered and I said no. He then said they would not play. But when we (the umpires) went out at the scheduled time they followed." Ramaswamy says that he had no conversations with Gavaskar about the pitch and dismisses talk of fixing as "sheer nonsense". "If Pakistan had been in a stronger position they would have ignored it."

Confronted with Ramaswamy's statement, Asif agreed. "Yes, I did protest because when we came to the ground in the morning, I felt the pitch had been tampered with and rolled to make it easier for batting ( India was batting). But later on our team continued playing. As it is if I had fixed the Test as Sarfaraz alleges, why would I have protested on the third day?" Two other members of that playing XI, Zaheer Abbas and Iqbal Qasim (who took 10 wickets in the match), supported their ex-captain's assertion, saying nothing fishy had taken place during the entire game except on the third morning when Pakistan had protested about the pitch. Yashpal Sharma and Roger Binny, two of the Indians in that team, contend the pitch was playable. As Sharma says, "In those days we never dreamed of something like this (fixing). Now they'll say that in 1983 (when India won the World Cup) something must have happened."

But there is as always a bizarre twist in the tale. Another member of the Pakistan team alleges that after the series the players realised that a gentleman who travelled with the team and even stayed on a few occasions with Asif was, in fact, a bookie. In reply, Asif says he only met Raj Bhagri, the gentlemen in question, on that tour itself. But he adds, "He was a friend of some of the players and they introduced him to me. The allegation that he stayed with me and travelled with the team is false." He also says, "Bhagri was a businessman, I think his father may have been a bookie." Nevertheless, immediately after the 1979-80 Indian tour, Pakistan travelled to Sharjah and it was there that Sarfaraz first accused Asif of having links with an Indian bookmaker (Bhagri presumably) and fixing matches.

This led to unproved stories that Asif had fixed the final Test in Calcutta in 1980 and conceded the toss to Indian captain Gundappa Vishwanath, who was never even allowed to look at the coin. Suspicion surrounded Asif's decision to declare the Pakistan innings at 210 for five when facing India's 262. In his deposition to the Judicial Commission, Imran mentioned this: "... in India there was some allegation that there was betting on a Test. Asif had declared the innings at a stage when Pakistan had not scored more runs than India. There were rumours that it was bet on who would score more runs in the innings?" Asif denies it vehemently, saying he made the sudden declaration in Calcutta since his team had a realistic chance of winning the Test in the available time. "It was a cricketing decision made by the team," he claims. The match ended in a draw.

Sarfaraz was just repeating what he said 19 years ago, except he never named Gavaskar then. Why two decades later he has brought up the subject raises questions about the Pakistani's motives. Indeed, Sarfaraz's old animosity towards both Gavaskar and Asif, and his reputation for shooting wildly from the lip, clouds the issue. Gavaskar says he has not spoken to him for over 20 years. "During the 1978 series in Pakistan he swore at Vishwanath. I said, 'Why are you doing that, he's a good guy' and then he started swearing at me." Asif and Sarfaraz were not quite buddies either -- Asif, it is said, got the fast bowler dropped from the team for the 1979-80 tour on flimsy grounds of fitness.

Sarfaraz has never quite cared about finding himself with his foot in mouth. The more bizarre a statement, more the chances he's behind it. He called Javed Miandad a chor (thief); he insisted Majid Khan was senile. It has meant the courts have become his favourite haunt. He was embroiled in legal battles with England batsman Allan Lamb and Abdul Rehman Bukhatir of Sharjah. Significantly he settled out of court on both occasions.

Unrepentant, Sarfaraz has added a can of petrol to the fire he set. Now he says he knows that the notorious Bhagri approached Imran with an offer of Rs 20 lakh to fix the Lahore Test in the 1982 series in Pakistan and this was done with the knowledge of the opposing captain, Gavaskar. Imran was not available for comment. Gavaskar just laughed: "First it was Asif and me, now it's Imran. Let's see who's next."

It is evident the faster Pakistan wraps up its inquiry and apportions punishment the better for cricket. The line between truth and fiction is beginning to blur. If Sarfaraz Nawaz has proof in the form of a tape, a witness, a letter, he should step forward. Otherwise he should shut up.

And television channels should stop interviewing everyone who wants 15 minutes of fame.

© Living Media India Ltd