Salim Malik refuses to respond to PCB questionnaire

LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Salim Malik has refused to respond to the questionnaire sent to him by the Pakistan Cricket Board in connection with a couple of meetings he had after he was banned for life for match-fixing in 2000, according to sources.

The PCB, which is yet to clear Malik despite a lower court overturning the life ban imposed on him on charges of corrupt practices, had issued a notice to him in 2013 over the nature of these two meetings. But, instead of replying to the questionnaire, Malik, who played 103 Tests between 1982 and 1999, has demanded the PCB to furnish the audio or video recordings of the transcript the Board had sent to him.

A source closed to Malik said that he has not responded to the questions put forth by the Bard's Anti-Corruption Unit. The Board's questionnaire pertained to some meetings Malik had in London in 2011 with some people, among them said to be a reporter of a now defunct tabloid-newspaper in UK.

"Malik in his reply has asked the PCB to send him the audio or video recordings of the transcript they have sent him," the source said. "Malik's contention is that if the International Cricket Council or PCB has any audio or video recordings of his conversations in London they should send him those as evidence to back up the transcript," he added.

The source said Malik had taken the stance that since he met with a lot of people and the meetings were held so many years back, he could not recall the exact conversation he had in those meetings.