Renowned legal expert Khalid Ranjha said Friday that fast bowler Mohammad Amir could get leniency from the court after his confession in a hearing in London on Friday. Ranja said that Amir would surely get some pardon in his punishment for his confession before the court. Amir has confessed to his involvement in spot-fixing during Pakistan’s Test series in England last year.
The bookie who set up the fix, Mazhar Majeed, has also confessed in court. Ranja said that his later statement that he was under pressure to deliver no ball has probably no relevance with the case. “He has said no such thing before the court and it has nothing to do with his case,” he said in a TV interview. Reports said that the young cricketer had submitted a confessional statement in a court in London. The spot-fixing scandal was initially exposed by the now-closed British tabloid “News of the World”. The tabloid had alleged that Amir and fellow bowler Mohammad Asif deliberately bowled no-balls at specific times during Pakistan’s 2010 tour of England in return for payment from a betting syndicate.
The News of the World alleged that an agent affiliated with some of the Pakistani players, later identified as Mazhar Majeed, had accepted a bribe from an undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood for information that Amir and Asif would deliberately deliver no balls at specific points during the match, information which could be used by gamblers to make wagers with inside information (a process known as spot-fixing, compared with match fixing to predetermine a match result). In the video posted by the tabloid, Majeed, was shown counting out the bribe money, and promised that Amir would be Pakistan’s bowler for the first over, and that the third ball of the over would be a no-ball delivery. Amir did bowl the first over, and on his third delivery from the over, bowled a no-ball delivery.
A commentator described the delivery as a “massive overstep”, a good half-metre beyond the popping crease. Majeed also predicted that the sixth delivery of the tenth over would be a no-ball, and the ball, delivered by Asif, was also a no-ball delivery. It is believed that their confessions will not affect the spot-fixing cases being heard against fast bowler Mohammad Asif and the then skipper Salman Butt. “It’s up to the court how much punishment it would give to Aamir,” he added. Ranja further said that the penalty could be less than expected given tender age.
