Colombo, August 09: Rattled by the match-fixing allegations against his side, Pakistan captain Younus Khan has hit back saying that his teammates earn well enough and don’t need to indulge in corrupt practices for extra money.
On his ‘Captain’s corner’ show on Geo TV, Younus said match-fixing might have been possible in the 80s and 90s as players could be lured into corrupt practices because of lower wages.
“Now a player earns around seven to Rs eight lakh per match so I don’t think he needs to get involved in such things. I am thankful to God for what he has given me. I wouldn’t like to earn my living by sacrificing my self respect and honor,” he said.
Younus said instead of levelling allegations, former players and the media must appreciate the players for bringing to the notice of the team management the presence of suspicious people in the team hotel in Colombo.
Younus admitted that on behalf of other players he had gone to the manager, Yawar Saeed and told him the players were uneasy with the presence of some suspicious people roaming around the same floor where the Pakistan team was staying in the tea hotel in Colombo during the test series in Sri Lanka.
“We were not happy because we had a bad feeling about these people so we told the manager to either shift us to another floor or have them shifted,” Younus said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed that the anti-corruption and security unit of the International Cricket Council is looking into the incident.
Younus said if former players kept making such accusations against the players, no one would bother to come forward in future.
“A player will think who cares. If we inform the management we are still accused of match fixing and if we don’t we are still under suspicion so why bother and that is a bad precedent,” Younus said.
“I am just an intermediate but I am earning a lot from cricket it is because of my country and my team. So why should I bother to get involved in corruption and I dont think any player needs to do. Cricket is paying well now,” he added.
However, Younus hinted that all may not be well with the Pakistan team. Without taking any names, Younus made it clear that he wanted some players to change their attitude.
“I don’t know the way I see it if these players don’t put the country and team before their own interests maybe fate will stop giving them the chances they are getting now,” he said.
Younus said players must not think about their seniority and do what the team demands.
“I don’t think players should be making choices or saying they don’t want to do this or that. I personally am ready to sacrifice for the team.
“In Australia some years back when captain, Inzamam-ul Haq and coach, Bob Woolmer wanted me to open the innings I did and scored a hundred. Players must remain positive all the time and do everything for their country and team,” he said.
Younus also made it clear that he didn’t believe in making wholesale changes in the team despite the disappointing performances in Sri Lanka.
“We can’t do that we can’t drop our senior players just because of one bad series. But yes for the future we need to start grooming and giving opportunities to other players and try to ease them into the team one by one,” he said.
—–PTI