Shahid Afridi slapped Mohammad Amir: He was lying, Shahid Afridi pulled Aamir and slapped him hard, revelation on fixing

New Delhi. Former Pakistan all-rounder and national selector Abdul Razzaq has revealed. He told how the 2010 spot-fixing conspiracy was revealed to the team management during the England tour. Razzaq also revealed that the then captain Shahid Afridi had slapped fast bowler Mohammad Aamir when the young pacer had initially denied any involvement.

Speaking on a Pakistani television show, Razzaq said that the conspiracy behind the 2010 Lord’s Test spot-fixing scandal was revealed by a friend of his in London. He used to repair mobile phones part-time. Razzaq said, “What happened was that Mazhar Majeed came to my friend and asked him to fix one of his phones. When my friend repaired the phone late at night, he found several messages between Mazhar and three players, in which there was mention of a plan to spot-fix the match.”

Later, Majeed was jailed for conspiring to spot-fix in Test matches along with Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Aamir. According to Razzaq, his friend immediately showed him these messages and he informed Afridi. Afridi had left the Test captaincy before the series.

Razzaq said, “Afridi called Aamir (who was just 18 years old at that time) to his room and asked me to wait outside. I could hear Afridi getting angry and demanding to be told the truth. When Aamir kept on denying, I heard a loud slap and I ran inside. After this Aamir started crying bitterly and confessed to the conspiracy, then there was chaos,” Razzaq said.

Razzaq said that if Pakistan Cricket Board and team management had taken immediate action then this scam would not have been so big. He said, “Some senior players had advised the team manager to fine all three players and send them home on disciplinary grounds, before the ICC got involved.”

Ultimately, Butt, Asif and Aamir were banned by the International Cricket Council and later sentenced to jail by the UK Crown Court. Butt and Asif never played for Pakistan again, although they were allowed to return to domestic cricket after serving their five-year ban. Aamir returned to international cricket in 2016. He continued playing till the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, although he himself retired from international cricket between 2020 and 2024.