“Sarfraz needs to be told that you have not done anything great. Someone has helped you to win these matches…There is no reason for you (Sarfraz) to rejoice.”

KARACHI (TIP): Just two days ahead of the high-octane Champions Trophy final against arch-rivals India, former Pakistan skipper Aamer Sohail has indirectly accused his national side of fixing matches in the ongoing eight team marquee event. While speaking on a Pakistani news channel, Sohail created a storm by saying that skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and his boys have no reason to rejoice as they have made it to the finals with the help of “external factors”, not by genuine performance.

“Sarfraz needs to be told that you have not done anything great. Someone has helped you to win these matches,” said Sohail. “There is no reason for you (Sarfraz) to rejoice. We all know what happens behind the scenes. I can’t tell you who have won them the games. If asked, I will say that the prayers of the fans and God have won them the games. They have been brought to the final due to external factors and not on the basis of their performances.”

The former opener warned the players to concentrate on their game and remain level-headed if they wanted to survive. “The boys now need to be level-headed and focussed on playing good cricket. We all are well aware of everyone’s calibre. If you do something wrong, then we will tell you about the same. If you do something correct, we will appreciate you. So, they should keep themselves level-headed, otherwise they would not be able to go much ahead.”

U-Turn

After hinting that the side had made the final by fixing matches, Sohail issued a clarification wherein he said that he had lost his cool after learning that Sarfraz had refused to dedicate the victory against Sri Lanka to former captain Javed Miandad, who was celebrating his 60th birthday on that day.

“My comments were made after I heard of Sarfraz’s refusal to dedicate the win to Miandad, and him saying that Miandad criticises the team too much,” Sohail said. “The other thing I said was that the facilitators of the win cannot be named; however, I said nothing about match-fixing or any other foul play, my statement was misunderstood.”

Source: Agencies