ICC Champions Trophy #IndVsPak final: Why is Aamer Sohail accusing Pakistan of 'match-fixing'?
Trust a controversy - whether real or imagined - to crop up before an India vs Pakistan cricket match, and if the stakes are high, such as the final of the ICC Champions Trophy, it's almost a given that some nastiness will materialise out of some quarter.
Before the India-Pakistan showdown at The Oval on Sunday, June 18, former Pakistan cricket Aamer Sohail has raised an absurd storm of sorts. Sohail said that Pakistan ODI skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and his boys have no reason to rejoice as they have made it to the final not on the basis of their performance but through "external factors".
According to various reports in the media, Sohail's statement was akin to accusing Pakistan of "match-fixing".
Sohail said: “Sarfraz needs to be told that you have not done anything great. Someone has helped you win the game. There is no reason for you (Sarfraz) to be so happy. We all know what happens behind the scenes. Don’t wish to get into the details on who won them the games. If asked, I will say that the prayers of the fans and God has won them the games. They have been brought to the final due to external factors and not based on on-field performance. The boys now need to be level-headed and focus on playing good cricket.”
Aamir Sohail levels serious allegations on Pakistan team, says "someone [from outside the team] is winning them matches." #PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/wPxD9INGkP
— azhar khan (@Azharkh4) June 15, 2017
Pakistan, it must be remembered, were no serious contenders to even advance beyong the group stages, let alone qualify for the Champions Trophy final. After losing to India in the series opener and needing a lot of luck to get past South Africa (Pakistan won by D/L method) and Sri Lanka, they stunned tournament favourites, the hosts England, in the semi-final. But insinuating "match-fixing" and "external factors" without any proof seems far-fetched even for a mercurial Pakistan side.
As soon as Sohail's clip went viral on social media, there was an understandable amount lot of backlash about his comments.
Aamir Sohail's bizarre rant against the new Pak captain Sarfraz may have a bit to do with sweet memories of Venkatesh Prasad.
— Mirza Waheed (@MirzaWaheed) June 16, 2017
Use hashtag --> #iSupportMyCaptain and slap all ill minded people like Aamir Sohail and Sehwag. #CT17Final
— Ammad (@KnightRises_) June 15, 2017
Pakistan doesnt need us to defeat them. Will be defeated by their own. shockingly irresponsible, idiotic statement from Aamir Sohail.
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) June 16, 2017
Many on social media said that Sohail's rant was completely uncalled for and damages the morale of the Pakistani team - already an underdog going in to Sunday's final. The Pakistani team, however, found an unlikely support in former Indian cricketers, Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh, with both terming Sohail's allegations as ridiculous.
"The likes of Sarfraz (Ahmed) and his boys are used to all this. This is not the first time I'm hearing all these. And how can Pakistan influence their qualification into a final? How?," Ganguly told India Today.
"These are all talks and I'm sure these guys are jealous. They thought that Pakistan will not reach that far. That's fine. Even I thought that they will not reach that far. They have worked really hard to get this far and I feel so bad when people work so hard and the ex-captains or ex-players talk bad about the team," Harbhajan said.
.@SGanguly99 & @harbhajan_singh react on Aamir Sohail's charges of match fixing. #ITVideo More videos: https://t.co/NounxnP7mg pic.twitter.com/ffqBzQRixd
— India Today (@IndiaToday) June 16, 2017
However, the former Pakistani opener later "clarified" his statement on Samaa TV, saying: "My comments were made after I heard reports of Sarfaraz's refusal to dedicate his performance against Sri Lanka to Miandad and him saying that Miandad criticises the team too much."
"The other thing I said was that the facilitators of the win cannot be named; however I said nothing about match-fixing or any other foul play — my statement was misunderstood," Sohail said.
As per Aamir Sohail that clip is out of context and the statement was before the Semi Final. pic.twitter.com/HYfcY2Qe95
— Arnold ShalwarNikker (@DaPakiGuy) June 15, 2017
Let's just hope Sohail's allegations don't hold any weight and dampen the spirits of both the teams in what promises to be a cracker of a finale on Sunday.