'Pakistan bowlers have always tampered with the ball'

Abdul Qadir, the legendary Test legspinner, has apparently been axed by Pakistan Television (PTV), for attributing the success of Pakistan's fast bowlers, both past and present, to tampering with the ball.

Hasan Jalil, the host of a cricket-special programme that enjoys mass viewership in Pakistan, asked Qadir about Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami being off-colour in the current series. Qadir's response had his fellow panellists, including a former Test fast bowler in Aaqib Javed, totally stunned: "We all know the ball has always been made up [tampered] by Pakistani fast bowlers, but with so much scrutiny on this series, this has not been possible. Even against Bangladesh in the Peshawar Test last year, the fast bowlers were unsuccessful till after a break, [when] wickets fell in a heap."

Qadir, however, claimed that he hadn't received any information about being sacked. He also threatened to take the matter up in court, and accused the TV channel of stifling "the truth". "I have not received any official communication on this, but the courts will decide if this happens. When they signed me up for the series, I was not told what I could speak and what I couldn't. The real problem is, nobody wants to hear the truth."