Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has alleged that former President Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani were involved in match-fixing when they were in power from 2008 to 2013. The player also mentioned the semi-final match between India and Pakistan in 2011 World Cup was a fixed encounter.
As per ProPakistani, speaking in an interview, the former wicketkeeper accused Yousaf Raza Gillani of fixing the second semi-final of the 2011 World Cup against India which was played in Mohali on 30 March. Team India defeated Pakistan in that match and made it to the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
Significantly, in Mohali, India defeated Pakistan by 29 runs in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2011. The match raised questions at that time as well as the Pakistan team missed a few chances to get Sachin Tendulkar out. Tendulkar scored 85 runs in the match and contributed to Team India’s victory.
Shahid Afridi was the captain of the Pakistan team and Pakistan entered the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup for the first time since 1999. However, Zulqarnain was not part of the national team for the 2011 World Cup as he had already announced his retirement from international cricket in 2010 under strange circumstances.
He further said that former head coaches Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed were also involved in match-fixing, though he remained silent at the time as the team could face dire consequences.
It is worth noting that many things keep rising in Pakistan about this match but nothing like this was seen in India. The Indian team was at its peak in that World Cup and played almost every match including the final which they won against the mighty Sri Lanka in the final.
