Mohammad Amir claims that he was tricked into bowling two no-balls at Lord's after being told he was the subject of an ICC investigation.
Former Pakistan bowler speaks out over spot-fixing scandal
Mohammad Amir claims that he was tricked into bowling two no-balls at Lord's after being told he was the subject of an International Cricket Council investigation.
In an in-depth interview with
Sky Sports' Michael Atherton, Amir has spoken out about his role in the spot-fixing scandal that saw him imprisoned for three months.
Amir deliberately bowled no-balls against England in 2010, with Pakistan team-mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif also found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments.
Amir originally maintained his innocence before deciding to plead guilty, and has said that he was asked to bowl the no-balls by Mazhar Majeed, who was also imprisoned for his part in the conspiracy, on the eve of the Lord's Test.
And Amir claims that Majeed used a fictional ICC investigation, supposedly launched after phone calls between Amir and a businessman known as 'Ali', to dupe him into taking part in spot-fixing activities.
Amir said: "He (Majeed) said that he told him (a friend of Majeed who told him of the supposed investigation), 'bro, put an end to this case, shut this file. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it. Whatever needs to be done, I'll do it. I'll do anything. But Amir's name should not be mentioned.'
'Favour'
"I said, 'and then.' That's when he said, 'can you do me a favour?' I asked him, 'what favour?' he replied, 'do two no-balls for me.' I said, 'what?'
"And there's something crucial that I'd like to say at this point. I'd like to say how stupid I was.
"I mean on the one hand he was telling me that a report about me had gone to the ICC, and on the other hand he wanted me to do two no-balls for him."
He added: "I was panicking so much it didn't even occur to me how ridiculous it was."
Amir also said that Butt and Majeed took advantage of his earlier involvement with 'Ali', who claimed to be a friend of Butt's and had introduced himself to the young bowler in Dubai.
"He (Ali) said that he was often in Pakistan, and that I should give him my Pakistan number so that he could contact me when he was there," Amir said.
"I gave him my contact details because he was Salman's friend. I thought it would be fine to do so."
