In the latest in a series of controversies to hit Pakistan cricket, former opening batsman Qasim Umar has accused two senior cricketers of the national team of being involved in match fixing and using drugs.
The Kenyan-born Umar made his Test debut against India at Jalandhar in 1983-84. He also played 31 one-day Internationals but his promising career was cut short after the PCB slapped a life ban on him for accusing Imran Khan of taking drugs.
Umar told a local daily on Sunday that he would disclose the names of the players at an “appropriate time”. “Right now I don’t want to take any names because both players are influential and can have me killed. I fear for my life,” Umar claimed.
“I am silent now for some reasons but when the time comes I will unmask their faces,” he said.“I know one of these players has been involved in fixing matches while the other has used drugs,” he added. Umar was banned for life in the late 80s for accusing former captain Imran and some other players of smuggling drugs in their kit bags to England.
On a television show, Umar had recently alleged that former West Indian great Sir Vivian Richards used recreational drugs on a regular basis for relaxation and stamina enhancement. “I appeal to the chief justice of Pakistan to call and hear me out because I know that when I’ll speak the truth and reveal the names what will happen to me,” he said.
