Latif does not want to work with former match-fixers

Former Pakistan cricket captain Rashid Latif said Tuesday he turned down the job of national chief selector because he could not work with ex-players tainted by corruption.

Former Pakistan cricket captain Rashid Latif has insisted he turned down the job of national chief selector because he could not work with ex-players tainted by corruption.

The 45-year-old, who famously blew the whistle on match-fixing in 1994 and 1995, last week refused to take up the chief selector's post with the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Corruption, match-fixing and spot-fixing allegations have dogged Pakistani cricket for two decades and Latif said he could not work with tarnished ex-pros.

"I have my principles, which do not allow me to work with players who were punished for match-fixing in the past," Latif told <i>AFP</i>.

Latif refused to name anyone but appeared to be making a dig at former team-mate Mushtaq Ahmed, who has reportedly been offered a role in the national cricket academy.

Ahmed was among six Pakistani internationals fined by a judicial commission in May 2000, following Latif's allegations.

The commission, under Lahore high court judge Malik Qayyum, also censured leg-spinner Ahmed and recommended he not be given any office of responsibility in the team or on the board.

Against International Cricket Council advice, England employed Ahmed as a spin bowling coach in 2010. Latif said the PCB should have zero tolerance of corruption.

"Any players suspected or punished in the past have no business working for the PCB in any capacity, and since I know that more than one player were offered jobs in the PCB I stayed away from it," added Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 ODIs.

Latest