‘Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Amir (Image credit: AFP)

Former Pakistan all-rounder and national selector Abdul Razzaq has revealed how, by a twist of fate, the 2010 spot-fixing conspiracy first came to the attention of the team management during Pakistan’s tour of England. Razzaq also recounted how then captain Shahid Afridi slapped fast bowler Mohammad Amir after the young pacer initially denied involvement in the scandal.Speaking on a Pakistani television show, Razzaq said the plot behind the fixing during the 2010 Lord’s Test spot-fixing scandal was uncovered by a friend of his in London who repaired mobile phones part-time.

“What happened was that Mazhar Majeed came to my friend and asked him to repair one of his phones. When my friend managed to get the phone working late at night, he found several messages between Mazhar and the three players detailing plans to spot-fix in the match,” Razzaq said.Majeed was later jailed for conspiring with Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Amir to spot-fix during the Test.According to Razzaq, his friend immediately showed him the messages, prompting him to inform Afridi, who was the senior-most player in the squad at the time.Afridi had stepped down as Test captain ahead of the series but remained the white-ball skipper.“Afridi called Amir, who was just 18 then, to his room and asked me to wait outside. I could hear Afridi getting angry and asking him to tell the truth. When he kept denying it, I heard a loud slap and rushed inside,” Razzaq recalled.“After that Amir broke down in tears and admitted to the conspiracy, and all hell broke loose,” he added.Razzaq said the scandal might not have spiralled if the Pakistan Cricket Board and team management had acted more swiftly.“Some senior players advised the team manager to fine the three players and send them home on disciplinary grounds before the ICC got involved,” he said.Eventually, Butt, Asif and Amir were banned by the International Cricket Council and later received jail sentences from a UK Crown Court.Butt and Asif never played for Pakistan again, although they were allowed to return to domestic cricket after completing their five-year bans.Amir, whose age and early confession were taken into account, returned to international cricket in 2016. He continued playing until the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, although he had earlier stepped away from international cricket due to a self-imposed retirement between 2020 and 2024.

R Ashwin shushes Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir

NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has defended young India batter Abhishek Sharma after former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir labelled him “just a slogger” during the T20 World Cup. Amir’s remark came after Abhishek was dismissed for three consecutive ducks in the group stage, questioning his technique and suggesting he lacked a defensive game.

However, Abhishek answered critics in style during India’s Super 8 clash against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, smashing 55 runs off just 30 balls as India piled up 256/4. His aggressive knock helped shift the narrative around his tournament.Responding to Amir’s comments on his YouTube channel, Ashwin strongly disagreed. “There is a video of Mohammad Amir doing the rounds, where he called Abhishek Sharma a slogger. I just want to make one thing clear: you can say anything about his game, but he is not a slogger. He has one of the most enviable bat swings in the game today. We all know Yuvraj Singh is his mentor,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.“He has probably got a better bat swing than him as well. You cannot get a better bat swing than that. Whenever Abhishek strikes the ball, it goes very far. So people can mistake him for being a slogger. The one thing Abhishek has been guilty of is showing intent on every ball.”After the knock on Thursday, Abhishek also admitted he had been waiting for such a performance. “It’s always great when you contribute to the team, and I was waiting for this moment for quite a long time now, so finally it’s happening. I’m really happy… I just wanted to spend some time at the pitch,” he said.He also praised the team’s support. “You have done this before as well, and your time is not so far. You just keep believing,” he revealed teammates had told him.

Mohammad Amir makes fresh Abhishek Sharma admission

NEW DELHI: India suffered a big setback in the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 stage after losing badly to South Africa. Even though India had gone through the group stage without losing, the heavy 76-run defeat has made their path to the semi-finals much tougher. One major concern for the team is the poor form of opener Abhishek Sharma, who scored just 15 runs in the match after getting out for three ducks in a row earlier in the tournament.

Abhishek’s repeated failures at the top have put extra pressure on India’s middle order. Players like Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, and Suryakumar Yadav had handled that pressure in earlier matches, but they struggled against South Africa’s strong bowling attack.Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has now given Abhishek some advice. Amir, who earlier called him a “slogger,” said Abhishek needs to play smarter and not attack blindly. “You must have seen that he scored 14 runs on the same side. All three of the boundaries he hit were off bad balls. He does have potential. He kept the same intent even after three ducks. But, as a senior player, my message to him would be that international cricket will expose your technique. If he brings a little patience and hits the ball where it is, it would be better. He has the skills; how he wants to utilise them is up to him,” Amir said on the show Haarna Mana Hai.Amir also said India are not as strong while chasing targets anymore. “India were exposed as they were chasing for the first time in this T20 World Cup. This isn’t a team that has Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. They handled the match as the situation demanded,” he said.He also criticised India’s team selection and strategy. “The biggest mistake India made was sending three left-handers at the top. Rinku doesn’t even get time to play. You benched Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel against batters who struggle against spinners. No matter how big a team you are, you won’t get results until you play the right combinations,” he asserted.