Sarfraz approached by bookie for spot-fixing during Sri Lanka series

DUBAI (Online): Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was approached by a bookie who made a spot-fixing offer to him during the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka in UAE, sources disclosed on Saturday.

Sarfraz rejected the offer and immediately reported the approach to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), sources said. A day ago, it was reported that an “important” member of Pakistan squad had been approached by an international fixing syndicate, but the cricketer had foiled the spot-fixing bid and alerted the ACU officials.

Sources revealed later that the cricketer in question was skipper Sarfraz, who was shopping with his family at a mall in Dubai when he was approached by a bookie ahead of the second ODI against Sri Lanka.

The bookie came up to the captain, who first thought he was a fan requesting for a selfie. The man, however, made a spot-fixing bid to Sarfraz who turned it down on the spot and reported the approach to PCB’s security officials staying with the team.

Sarfraz also reported the approach to Director Security Colonel Azam in Lahore. PCB, however, said it cannot confirm the incident as yet.

The bookie appeared to be a Pakistani, the sources said. The board, following the incident, tightened security measures for the team and issued fresh instructions to the squad to stay away from irrelevant people.

PCB security officials also restored the curfew timings for the players in the aftermath of the approach. The curfew had been ended after Mickey Arthur took over as head coach.

Prior to the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series, there were reports that bookies were intending to approach players, in view of which the ACU team was already on alert and had tightened curfew timings for the team, the sources disclosed.

Pakistan play Sri Lanka in the fifth and final ODI at Sharjah on October 23. They have already sealed the five-match ODI series 4-0.