Need to criminalise match-fixing in Pakistan, says Ehsan Mani

Pakistan Cricket Board's chairman Ehsan Mani has said that the country needs to bring in a legislation to criminalise match-fixing.

Mani also said that the PCB currently does not have the legal authority to check the bank accounts whenever a match-fixing incident is reported.

"We follow the guidelines which have been issued by the ICC. I think we need to make match-fixing a criminal offence. New Zealand, Australia, and Sri Lanka have bought in the legislation. I have talked to the government to bring in this change," Mani said in a video posted by the official Twitter handle of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"The problem is that the PCB does not have legal authority when it comes to the matter of match-fixing. We cannot follow money trails, if there is a law related to match-fixing, then agencies can come in and do the needful," he added.

Over the last few years, Pakistan has reported several match-fixing cases.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir were involved in the spot-fixing scandal in a Test match against England in 2010.

Then, the ICC had to ban the above-mentioned players for a period of 5-10 years in November 2011.

However, Mohammad Amir has made a comeback to the team.

Over the last few months, several former Pakistan cricketers like Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez have spoken out against second chances being given to players.