It is indeed very disheartening to see three of Pakistan’s very talented cricketers being sentenced but then considering what they did, they were bound to be punished. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have finally been sentenced to jail and fined heavily for their involvement in the spot-fixing fiasco that shocked the world.
They have not only put an end to what could’ve been glorious careers as professional cricketers but have also tarnished the image of Pakistan all over the world. Asif and Amir were bowling legends-in-the-making and Salman Butt was a skilled batsman but their lapses in judgment and greed has greatly humiliated all their Pakistani fans. With cricket being the most popular sport in Pakistan, its players are seen as national heroes and pride of the nation.
According to Mazhar Majeed, many players of different countries are involved in match-fixing that has been going on for years. Such incidents have occurred in the past as well but these three were caught and given exemplary punishments in order to serve as deterrence for all current and upcoming players. It is hoped that lessons will be learnt from this punishment and future players will not get involved in such criminal behaviour.
The PCB should have taken appropriate measures to identify and curb such corrupt activities as there had been hints of spot-fixing and match-fixing in the past as well.
SYEDA YAMNA UROOJ
Karachi
