KARACHI — Disgraced Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif Wednesday apologized for his role in a 2010 spot-fixing scandal, admitting his guilt for the first time and accepting a five-year ban. The 30-year-old is the last of three players to make a confession, after teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir admitted their part and presented themselves for rehabilitation. Asif, pace partner Amir and then-captain Butt were banned for contriving to bowl deliberate no-balls in return for money during the Lord's Test against England in 2010. A year later an anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Butt for 10 years, with five suspended, Asif for seven years with two suspended and Amir for five years. The tribunal had made confession, apology and rehabilitation mandatory to avoid the suspended portion of the ban being activated. “I accept the punishment from the ICC tribunal in 2011,” Asif said at a news conference. “I apologize for my actions that have brought disrespect to my beloved country, to the millions of fans in Pakistan and in the world.” The trio and their agent Mazhar Majeed were also jailed by an English court over the affair in 2011. The players were released last year. Asif's show of contrition comes at the end of a long and exhaustive bid to clear his name that saw him unsuccessfully challenge both his criminal conviction and ICC ban. Asif said he felt sorry for his repeated mistakes. “When I look back at the events of my career, I feel very sorry,” he said. Asif warned future players to avoid the pitfalls of fixing before adding that he was ready to go through the PCB rehabilitation program. Stevens reveals charge English cricketer Darren Stevens Wednesday admitted to being charged by the ICC with failure to report attempted corruption in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The ICC announced Tuesday that seven people had been charged with match-fixing in the BPL, with a further two accused of failing to report approaches to fix the 2013 edition of the Twenty20 competition. “I confirm that I have been charged by the ICC with a failure to report a corrupt approach made to me during BPL2 in February this year,” Stevens said in a statement released by his English county side Kent. “I have not been involved in any corrupt activity and have not been charged with any and I am cooperating with the ICC and ACSU (Anti-Corruption and Security Unit) in their investigation and prosecution of the corruption charges in matters relating to the BPL.” The charge Stevens is facing carries a maximum penalty of a five-year suspension from cricket. — Agencies
