LAHORE – Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has apologised to the national cricket team for saying he was keeping a “close watch” on them ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against India. Rehman Malik was quoted on Monday as saying he had warned the team that “there should be no match fixing” and that the players were being closely monitored.
Team captain Shahid Afridi told a wire news agency on Tuesday that Malik had telephoned him to apologise for his comments, which came just two days before the semi-final. Afridi said he did not want to comment further on the matter.
Malik said that Pakistan cricket players were the heroes of country and expressed the hope that they would bring coveted trophy of the World Cup for the nation. Malik said Pakistani players have done a great job during the World Cup matches by bringing smiles on face of the citizens.
Replying to a question he said, “Being an elder, I advised all players of Pakistani team to focus only on their game, besides avoiding talk on irrelevant issues.”
Malik apologises to Afridi
