Pietersen: Ban match-fixers for life
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen says he believes cricketers convicted of match-fixing should be banned for life.
Pietersen made the statement in his new book, Kevin Pietersen on Cricket, directly referring to Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.
“I know Mohammad Amir was only 18 when he got into trouble, and that he was a special talent,” wrote Pietersen.
"I also know that he and Mohammad Asif were from poor backgrounds and were offered a hell of a lot of money for a few seconds' work. But I don't care; they should not be coming back.
“I don't feel badly towards them and I wish them well in their lives, but the game is bigger than us, the game will be around a lot longer than us, and we don't have the right to steal from it.
"We play fairly, we play tough, we play positively, we play negatively; people play the way that they want to play.
“But there's no place in the game for corruption, and if you get caught you have to be given a life ban."
Amir was given a five year ban after he was found guilty of spot fixing, along with Asif and Salman Butt, during a Test match against England in 2010.
The 23-year-old has recently started playing domestic cricket in Pakistan in hopes of restarting his once flourishing career.
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