LONDON – Ex-professional Pakistani cricketer, Nasir Jamshaid, has admittedbribing cricketers to fix elements of international matches following acovert investigation by the National Crime Agency.
Today at Manchester Crown Court, Jamshaid, 32, who was living in Oldbury inthe West Midlands, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.
He joins British nationals Yousaf Anwar, 35, from Hayes in West London, andMohammad Ijaz, 33, from Sheffield, who also admitted their roles in theconspiracy on 2 December 2019.
Using an undercover officer, NCA investigators identified that the groupwere plotting to fix elements of the 2016 Bangladesh Premier League T20tournament which Jamshaid was due to play in.
Anwar and Ijaz developed a system by which they would identify aprofessional player willing to partake in an agreed fix. The player wouldsignal at the start of the match to confirm the fix was on.
Typically, they would charge £30,000 per fix with half of that going to theplayer.
The following year, the three men made further plans to fix Pakistan SuperLeague (PSL) matches being played in Dubai. In February 2017 Anwar flew outto Dubai to meet with other professional players, including IslamabadUnited teammates Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan, who agreed to play theirpart in corrupting elements of a game.
Before flying out to join them, Anwar was captured on CCTV purchasing 28different coloured cricket bat handle grips from a wholesalers in St.Albans where he gave Ijaz’s name and address for the receipt. These wouldsubsequently be used by the players as the signal to show the fix was goingahead.
The PSL fixture between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi was played inDubai on 9 February 2017. Despite Latif originally agreeing to the fix, itwas Khan who entered the crease almost five hours into the game displayingthe pre-agreed signal.
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Khan then carried out the fix, playing two dot balls in the first two ballsof the second over, before getting out leg before wicket (LBW) for 0 in thethird ball of the over.
On 13 February 2017 Jamshaid was arrested by NCA officers at his home, andAnwar was arrested at Heathrow Airport after flying back from Dubai. Ijazwas detained at his home in Sheffield ten days later.
All three men will be sentenced in February 2020 on a date to be confirmed.
Jamshaid, Latif, Khan, and a fourth player, Mohammed Irfan, were allsuspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board following subsequent tribunalhearings.
Ian McConnell, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said: “These men abusedtheir privileged access to professional, international cricket to corruptgames, eroding public confidence for their own financial gain.
“Tackling corruption and bribery in its various forms is a priority for theNational Crime Agency. We will vigorously pursue those involved and targettheir illicit profits which are so often used to fund further criminality.”
