Former Pakistan opener Mudassar Nazar on September 29 revealed the massive pressure the team had to face in the early 1990s whenever they went up against India. Nazar said that fans back home suspected match-fixing every time they lost to arch-rivals India.
Under the leadership of Imran Khan, the Pakistan team was a force to be reckoned with. Their first and only ODI World Cup win came in 1992 on Australian soil. The Pakistan team was formidable during this period in both white ball and red-ball formats. Nazar compared Pakistan team of 90s to the dominant Australia and said that people just couldn’t accept when they lost to a better side.
"I think if you look at Pakistan's team in the 90s, they were, talent wise, as good as Australia in the 90s. But it was a sheer fear factor of losing the game, and I'm going to be a little bit controversial here," Mudassar said as quoted by PTI at the Cricket Predicta Conclave in Sharjah, UAE.
"The controversy is behind match fixing. There was a lot of pressure on the Pakistan team because every time they lost a game, people thought the game was dubious, the game was fixed. Nobody was prepared to accept that they actually lost to a better team."
Nazar feared losing to India
Nazar represented Pakistan from 1976 to 1989. The all-rounder scored 6,767 runs and 177 wickets on international stage from 76 Tests and 122 ODI appearances. The 68-year-old admitted that he feared losing to India during his career.
"So, at some stage in the early 90s, I was part of that team which was fearful of losing the game, and that was entirely due to match fixing or fear of people believing the match was fixed," he added.
Fixing eventually affected Pakistan team
Nazar also pointed out that eventually the match-fixing saga had the better of the Pakistan team. Former captain Salim Malik and pacer Ata-ur-Rehman faced a life ban after an inquiry that lasted 18 months.
"You add another factor there, which is the factor of playing against India. No Pakistani, no Indian, wanted to lose the game. We've seen that in Sharjah and that's why India versus Pakistan here was such a big event.
"That wasn't the case with the cricket, but with the general public probably. There was a lot of pressure there. Unfortunately, the match-fixing saga took its toll on Pakistan team," the Lahore-born all-rounder said.
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