Pakistan National Assembly's Standing Committee on Sports chairman Jamshed Dasti has back tracked from his earlier statement in which he had accused the Pakistani cricket team of 'fixing' the ICC champions Trophy matches against Australia and New Zealand.
Dasti, in an apparent volte-face, said he never accused the team of losing the matches intentionally, and that he has been 'misunderstood'.
"I never said the Pakistan players indulged in any match-fixing against Australia or New Zealand. What I was trying to say has been completely misunderstood by everyone," The Daily Times quoted Dasti,as saying.
"What I was trying to say was that the standing committee is also concerned by these reports and it is fair to hold an inquiry into the allegations and for this purpose we intend to call the captain, coach and the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to a hearing soon," he clarified.
Dasti, however, continued to criticize the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ijaz Butt, saying the committee strongly believes that until Butt is removed from the post, there could be no improvement in Pakistan cricket.
Earlier, Dasti had alleged that Pakistan 'deliberately' lost the match against Australia in order to kill India's chances of entering the semi-final of the just concluded eight-nation tournament.
