Imran adds to match-fixing intrigue

Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, has said that an Indian bookmaker told him that Indian players were involved in fixing matches during a tour to India 23 years ago.

Imran said that during a benefit match tour in 1977 the bookmaker approached him on several occasions to offer him information on players and countries involved in fixing matches. "He told me about a few names who were fixing matches but he never dared to offer me," Imran said in an interview with Cricket Talk magazine.

"I never took him seriously. He named a few players. I think he talked about players from another international team. He said they were involved in match-fixing, too." Imran blamed the problem of match-fixing on the frequency of one-day matches and said cricket boards were reluctant to take action.

Referring to the fines imposed on Shane Warne and Mark Waugh for giving information to bookmakers, he said: "From the Australian board's reaction, it is clear that boards protect their own. The ICC [International Cricket Council] is ineffective... I would have never expected South Africa to be involved. It makes me unsure about everything now."