Sydney, Aug 31 (ANI): Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has tried to shed some light on the Pakistan players' alleged role in spot fixing, and said that they might have been threatened to do so by illegal bookmakers.
Lawson, who coached Pakistan between 2007 and 2008, said that if the allegations were proved, it could well be related to extortion, threats, and the well-being of their own family members.
"It would not surprise me if illegal bookmakers have told players that if they do not perform X and Y, their families will be kidnapped or harmed," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.
Recollecting an incident when he was asked by a selector to field a particular player on the eve of a match, Lawson said: "...I went to his (the captain's) room and he was standing there with a very sombre-looking selector.
"This selector said: 'We must pick (the player), I have been told that if he is not in the team tomorrow, my daughter will be kidnapped and I will not see her again.'"
"At first we both (Lawson and the captain) laughed, but then we realised he was being serious. Our ( PCB) chairman then called the president, Pervez Musharraf, who in turn phoned the people behind the threats and said they had better reconsider or else. The next we heard the matter had been resolved," he told the paper.
Lawson also suggested that the Pakistani players must not be judged by the Australian or British standards, which were different from those of Pakistan. (ANI)
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