LONDON: Cricketer Nasir Jamshed’s wife, Dr Samara Afzal is worried on what to tell their daughter about conviction of her father in match-fixing case.
In a letter penned down minutes after Nasir Jamshed was sentenced to 17-month imprisonment in Manchester, England, she advised other players not to take the same path in their career. The Pakistani player had convinced other players in Feb 2018’s Pakistan Super League match to avoid scoring runs on certain balls in exchange for 30,000 British pounds.
In the letter, Dr Samara Afzal said, “Today is the most difficult day of my life as Nasir starts his custodial sentence & I figure out what to tell my 4 year old. I’ve felt the need to write this in the hope that others learn from Nasir’s mistakes & no one goes through the pain we have suffered in the last 3 years.”
She said, “Nasir could have a bright future had he worked hard and been committed to the sport that gave him so much but he took a short cut and lost everything: his career, status, respect and freedom. He would have got UK nationality and played country cricket and he threw his chance away.
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“He would do anything to turn the clock back and not lose everything, especially his daughter who he’s very close to but it’s too late for him. I hope all cricketers look at his example as a deterrent against corruption,” she maintained.
“An international cricket can probably earn more than I as a doctor can so I can’ understand the need to partake in corruption. I know in Pakistan one person is expected to provide for a dozen others but that doesn’t justify corruption. Praying for your country is a privilege and not an entitlement which as we have seen can be taken at any time.
“I hope and pray no other cricketer gets lured into to this temptation for money and no family has to bear the pain and humiliation we have endured and continue to do so.”
