Questions must be answered

As Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif face some uncomfortable questions in Doha over the coming days, some of the spotlight will also fall on others within the Pakistan cricket set-up. And whether they like it or not, the International Cricket Council will also have to answer questions about the efficacy of the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) assembled at considerable cost over the past decade.

It will raise more than a few eyebrows that Waqar Younis, currently Pakistan's coach, and Shahid Afridi, the limited-overs captain, will be among those giving evidence. Back in 2000, Waqar was fined Rs.100,000 (Dh4,280) after the Qayyum Commission that enquired into match fixing found several loopholes in his testimony.

"Afridi doesn't have any match-fixing allegations on his rap-sheet, but can boast of just about everything else, including dancing mid-pitch to scuff up the surface and biting a ball in Australia early last year. Those questioning the two would also do well to ask why neither bothered to alert the ACSU about the comings and goings of Mazhar Majeed, the agent who had earlier been asked to stay away from the team hotel.

Having covered the game for more than a decade, I see plenty of "agents" hanging around at games. Some are known to frequent even the Under-19 World Cups. How many of them are legitimate player representatives? How is it that they can gain such access? Does it need a newspaper, and a tabloid whose methods verge on the unethical at that, for cricket to look closely at the rot within?