'I was playing against 22 people': Shoaib Akhtar talks about former Pakistan teammates and their match-fixing aspersions

Pakistan cricket was in ruins back in 2011 after fast bowler Mohammad Amir was banned for a minimum of five years by the ICC's anti-corruption tribunal along with Mohammad Asif for their role in match-fixing. 

Not just them, even opening batsman Salman Butt was involved in spot-fixing and served a five-year suspension. 

Recalling these instances, Shoaib Akhtar, speaking on a talk show 'Rewind With Samina Peerzada', spoke about the match-fixing aspersions on his former Pakistan teammates.

"I was always of the belief that I can never cheat Pakistan, no match-fixing. I was surrounded by match-fixers. I was playing against 22 people (sic) -- 11 theirs and 10 ours. Who knows who was the match-fixer. There was so much match-fixing. (Mohammad) Asif told me which all matches they had fixed and how they did it," Shoaib Akhtar said on the show.

Akhtar said that he was really hurt and angry when he heard about the fixing.

"I tried to make Amir and Asif understand. What a waste of talent. When I heard about this, I was so upset that I punched the wall. Pakistan's two top bowlers, smart, intelligent and the two perfect fast bowlers were wasted. They sold themselves for a little money," said the former Pakistan pacer.

While Amir managed to return to international cricket, Asif and Salman Butt did not.

As a matter of fact, Amir was even part of the Pakistan squad for the World Cup 2019. 

However, in July, the left-arm pacer announced his retirement from Test cricket at the age of 27, saying he wanted to focus on white-ball cricket.