Pakistan bowler Faheem Ashraf, who is currently taking part in the Champions One Day Cup 2024 tournament made shocking revelations about umpiring standards in the country's domestic cricket circuit.
He revealed that umpires give favourable decisions to players with whom they are friends with, which brings into question about the integrity and fair play in the sport.
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Do umpires give favourable decision to certain cricketers in Pakistan's domestic cricket?
Faheem was speaking during a post-match interview after the Dolphins' match in the ongoing Champions One Day Cup, where he criticized and exposed the poor quality of umpires in the domestic circuit.
"In domestic cricket, the quality of our umpires is evident, and many have advanced in their careers this way. The standards of umpiring remain the same at the domestic level, but the lack of extensive coverage there means that the quality often goes unnoticed,” he said.
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He further requested officials in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to investigate and take a strict approach when selecting umpires, saying that umpires take bribe from players to give decisions in their favour.
"However, those responsible for the panel selections need to review the appointments carefully, as every decision is under public scrutiny. In domestic cricket, there is a friendship. If we are friends with umpires, that works in our favour and in return we look after them."
Faheem revealed that since the ongoing Champions One Day Cup is televised, there is scrutiny on every decision made by the umpire. However, that is not the case with less popular domestic tournaments.
Faheem Ashraf "in domestic cricket we are friends with umpires so that works in our favour and in return we look after them" (video courtesy PCB) #Cricket #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/KQDVx1ktL5
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) September 20, 2024
"Now there is no friendship in this tournament, so everything is on the screen. You are seeing everything. The whole world is watching. The whole of Pakistan is watching," he concluded.
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