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Summary Imran Khan criticised the previous cricket boards for sweeping the matter under the carpet.
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan on Thursday said he was pained to hear that three of the countrys cricketers were being jailed for fixing parts of a Test match against England.Pakistan former Test captain Salman Butt, 27, received 30 months, fast bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, received one year in jail and 19-year-old Mohammad Aamer was jailed for six months.Butt and Asif were found guilty on Tuesday of deliberately bowling three no-balls during the Lords Test in August 2010 as part of a spot-fixing betting scam uncovered by Rupert Murdochs now-defunct News of the World.Aamer and playerss agent Mazhar Majeed, sent down for 32 months, had already pleaded guilty to involvement in the scam.It is painful to listen (to) the news as a former Pakistan cricketer and I feel really sorry for their families, Khan, who was on a political meeting to the United Arab Emirates said.In a way I also feel sorry for these cricketers because they are from Pakistan where there are massive corruption cases against president (Asif Zardari) and they must have thought crime pays, said Khan, who now heads his political party -- Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice).The verdict is a wake-up call for Pakistan cricket and from now on we should be ultra careful and, like we did in the past, should never allow the corruption to set in, said Khan, who led Pakistan to their only World Cup win in 1992.Khan criticised the previous cricket boards for sweeping the matter under the carpet.We should not hide behind the justification that it (fixing) happens in international cricket. It does happen, but Pakistan should set its house in order first and anyone involved should be punished, said Khan.I always felt sorry for Aamer, said Khan, himself a fast bowler. He may have been influenced by the atmosphere around him, secondly he was the best young fast bowler and for the fact that he came out with a confession, said Khan.
