Prabhakar himself not above board: Latif

NEW DELHI, MAY 28. Former Pakistani captain Rashid Latif has said that Manoj Prabhakar, who raked up the match-fixing issue in India with his allegation against Kapil Dev, is himself ``not above board.''

In an interview to website Naradonline.Com, Latif says: ``if Kapil did approach him with an offer, it could be because he (Kapil) knew Prabhakar was himself into the racket.... What I mean is if Prabhakar says Kapil approached him with a match- fixing offer or that he knew other players are involved in it, then he must have also at some time been part of this racket. An outsider can never tell or know when a team is fixing a match.''

Latif recalls a 1994 incident when the Pakistani team was returning from New Zealand and was on transit through Singapore or Bangkok. ``We came across Prabhakar who was either returning or going to New Zealand and he spoke to one of our players about the one-day international in Christchurch. I remember him telling that player he had heard about the circumstances in which we (Pakistan) lost that match and that he should be also told how to make some money like this,'' Latif is quoted as saying.

Asked if Prabhakar had sought the information to know how it was done, Latif says: ``it is a documented fact that Prabhakar was suspended once by the Indian board for batting slowly in a match against West Indies.''

The former Pakistani player also questioned the delay on part of the Indian all-rounder in revealing Kapil's name, six years after the incident was alleged to have taken place. ``If Kapil approached him in 1994, why did he wait for three years before first making his allegations in the press and further three years before naming the person?'' questions Latif.

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Section  : Sport
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