Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed was approached by a bookie who made a spot-fixing offer to him during the ongoing five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in the UAE.
The captain, who led his team to a 4-0 victory on Friday against the Islanders, turned down the offer and reported the approach to Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), as per the guidelines given to players in such cases.
“The captain was approached by the bookie who is believed to be of Pakistani origin. The incident happened after the first ODI, but Sarfraz turned them down by reporting the incident to PCB’s ACU immediately,” the source said. “Sarfraz was approached while he was out with his family on an off day after the first ODI, and on his return to the hotel he reported the incident to the ACU officials.”
The source added that when the bookie approached him, Sarfraz thought he was a fan requesting for a picture, but the man 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 and to the Director Security Colonel Azam in Lahore.
Meanwhile, PCB officials who are with the team and in the head office haven’t confirmed the incident and said they are setting up an inquiry. “We have not received any confirmation yet but we will share the official stance on this once the incident is confirmed,” said the PCB official.
Following the incident, the security officials with the team have tightened the security measures and issued fresh instructions to the squad to stay away from irrelevant people and also restored the curfew timings for the players in the aftermath of the approach.
