WASIM Akram denied match-fixing and bribery allegations and claimed there is a conspiracy against him.
The Lancashire captain was reacting after he was implicated along with Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmed in match-fixing in an interim report by the Pakistan Cricket Board's investigations committee.
``I am really shocked and disappointed. Until and unless I am cross-examined [in court] no one can defame me like this,'' said Wasim.
``I am a fighter and will fight back once I come back. I will not let my enemies destroy me. I am ready to take everyone on,'' he vowed.
The 32-year-old all-rounder has featured prominently in match-fixing scandals haunting Pakistani cricket since 1994. He was stripped of the national side's captaincy in January but has turned down offers to lead Pakistan again.
``It is a one-sided story and should not have come out. The allegations are baseless,'' Wasim said.
A judge heading the investigation said his committee would finalise their report in three months. ``We will give the accused players all the opportunities to clarify them,'' Justice Ejaz Yousuf said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board began the inquiry into match-fixing and betting after last year's Sharjah Cup, when Wasim led Pakistan to a 3-2 loss.
``Our people do not accept defeats and that is why they see something wrong in the matches we lose,'' he said. |
