KARACHI, (Reuters) – Former Pakistan international Saleem Pervez, who once confessed to paying players to fix matches, died yesterday following a road accident at the weekend.
Pervez, 65, who played a one-day international against West Indies in 1980, died after suffering fatal injuries in a road accident last Sunday in Lahore.
“His motorbike was hit by a truck and he had gone into a coma and never came out of it. He died on Wednesday,” a family friend, Nadir Khan said.
The hard-hitting opener came into prominence in the 1990s when a judicial inquiry was held into match-fixing allegations against some Pakistani players.
The judicial inquiry in 2000 recommended a life ban for former Pakistan captain Saleem Malik for match-fixing and fined five other players for not cooperating in the probe.
Pervez in his statement to the commission had alleged that he paid out huge amounts to some players for fixing matches on behalf of bookmakers.
He also claimed to have paid $100,000 to Malik and leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed in Colombo in 1994 but was never punished for his role in match-fixing.
