Pak
coach Bob Woolmer was murdered
Pakistan cricket
coach Bob Woolmer, found dead a day after Pakistan’s shock defeat at
the hands of Ireland, was murdered, police have confirmed. Although
the Pakistan Cricket Board has been claiming that the autopsy
conducted on Woolmer was inconclusive, sources, according to Times
Now, have confirmed that investigators have indeed said the coach
was murdered.
Cricket is Gentleman’s game
But
the question is — where are the gentlemen? Medical Profession and
Legal Practice were also called as the noble professions. But now
days both are in the grip of malpractices and corruption. For
example takes the news of March 20. Former CM of Chhattisgarh
loyalist of Sonia Gandhi was arrested two days back in the political
murder case of Ramawatar Jaggi in Raipur. Public prosecutor Gupta
advocate who was not deputed officially for representing the bail
case of Jogi. But public prosecutor Gupta presented the case as he
was pleading on behalf tof Jogi and thus Jogi got bail from the
court which was otherwise not be obtained.
Jamaica Police Questions Pakistan Players
In fact, the
Jamaican Police is said to be already ascertaining the whereabouts
of some of the Pakistan players at the time the murder could have
taken place. Sources confirmed to Times Now that further questioning
of Pakistan players is on the cards as well.
Match-fixing mafia behind the murder
Former Pakistan
Cricket Coach Sarfaraz Nawaz suspects match fixing might be reason
behind the murder of Bob. He called Inzmam and Mustaq gamblers (Juari).
The confirmation
comes soon after allegations by Sarfaraz Nawaz that Woolmer was
murdered by the match fixing mafia. The outspoken Nawaz has said
that almost everybody in control of the game is involved in betting
and Woolmer was perhaps about to reveal all in a book. He said, "Woolmer
may have been killed by those who wanted to silence him on the issue
of match fixing."
a. Sarfaraz Nawaz's claim is being viewed with a degree of
seriousness. Firstly, PCB insiders have told Nawaz that at least 5
bookies from Pakistan had reached West Indies in the first week of
March 2007.
b. The
bookies had been in touch with Pakistani players.
c. Woolmer
was writing a book called 'Discovering Cricket' in which he
allegedly was going to expose the cricketer-bookie nexus in
Pakistan.
Has Woolmer carried with him to the grave dark secrets that could
have brought ruin upon Pakistan's players? Did he pay for being the
unwitting receptacle of information that was never to be shared?
If this is true, Woolmer's frequent run-ins with Pakistani players
and his earlier admittance of stress dealing with the team acquire a
different meaning and no doubt come under the police scanner.
Book on cricket
written by Bob will come soon
Gill also
mentioned that Bob was writing a book on cricket in general and that
the manuscript of that book was already completed and that it was
ready to be dispatched to the publisher for further editing.
Interfearance in
Pak Cricket
Pakistan’s
cricket has always been racked by divisive politics: the Karachi
lobby and the Lahore group, both of which have tried to prevail. The
Army, which runs every aspect of life, has tried to intervene by
placing key officials to manage the administration. Coaches were
appointed and sacked on a regular basis. Doping scandals, betting
rackets, ball tampering allegations; every evil of modern cricket
surfaced in Pakistan’s cricket world. In this witches’ brew came Bob
Woolmer, fresh from South Africa.
Religion in
Pakistani Cricket
Former Pakistani
captain, Asif Iqbal, has given a more perceptive reason for the
downfall of the team: over emphasis on religion. Today, the
Pakistani team looks like a band of religious zealots. There is
nothing wrong with flaunting one’s religious identity, but not if it
overwhelms every other aspect of a person. In the process,
somewhere, the Pakistani team, which has no dearth of talented
players, has lost its way.
Asad Mustafa said
death of Bob was “suspicious” from the start
Pakistan team’s
manager Asad Mustafa, who commented that the circumstances in which
Woolmer was discovered were “suspicious” from the start – not only
was there vomit found, there were also indications that the coach
had suffered from diarrhea, his blood sugar testing machine was
found on the floor in the bathroom and there was blood on his cheek
and eyes.
Pakistan aiming
for victory tribute to Woolmer
Pakistan team’s
manager Asad Mustafa said there was no ban on movement of Pakistan
players outside hotel and that the team will play their final match
against Zimbabwe. PAKISTAN are eager to pay a fitting tribute to
their late coach Bob Woolmer by beating Zimbabwe in their final
World Cup Group D match at Sabina Park today.
Pervez Mir
Suspects Coach Bob Woolmer May Have Been Murdered
The Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman Pervez Mir has informed news agency
AFP that the Jamaican police investigating into the mysterious death
of Coach Bob Woolmer suspect he may have been murdered. Meanwhile,
Mir said the intention was that the body would be returned to
Woolmer's family in Cape Town via London.
Pakistan’s
stand-in coach Mushtaq Ahmed
“Life is more
important than sports. And when somebody passes away, especially a
guy we look upon as a father, we can't explain that feeling in
words,” says Pakistan’s stand-in coach Mushtaq Ahmed.
"The Major
Investigation Task Force (MIT) has been asked to probe prescription
drug and alcohol overdose theory. The Police is treating sudden
death as a homicide. Woolmer had received death threats from
Pakistani fans, we are taking reports of death threats very
seriously. The police is questioning persons who met with Woolmer
before his death."
Wife of Bob Rules
Out
Overdose of Drugs or Alcohol as the Cause of Death
Gill Woolmer totally ruled out the theory of suicide by her husband.
Gill Woolmer, the wife of late Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has ruled
out the possibility that her husband died of any overdose of
prescription drugs or alcohol. Speaking to an Indian T V Channel on
Wednesday, Gill refuted media reports as “ridiculous” and “rubbish”
when asked whether there was any possibility of Bob having succumbed
to overdose of prescription drugs or alcohol.
She
continued to affirm that Bob would never resort to drinking alcohol
when under stress and had written an e-mail to her after the shock
defeat to Ireland, saying he was very "disappointed" by the loss.
However, an excerpt of the e-mail written by Bob on March 18, the
day he passed away under mysterious circumstances, points out that
he felt more disturbed when South Africa tied their match against
Australia in the semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup in Edgbaton and
had to crash out of the Cup following that result. Bob was then
coaching the Proteas under late Hansie Cronje’s captaincy.
Bob
in his mail rated the Edgbaston exit as more disturbing than the
loss Pakistan suffered against Ireland.
Gill continued to assert that Bob had never mentioned to her that he
felt stressed although there were pressures of coaching a team like
Pakistan. She said never did he mention of having any animosity
either with the Pakistan establishment or the players.
Bob
had no enemies as such, Gill said while speaking to the channel.
Contrary to media reports appearing in Pakistan, which reported that
Bob was complaining of chest pain before the World Cup, Gill said
her husband never
spoken about any such problems and all she knew about Bob was he
always kept a good health and was fit to do his coaching job.
She
also ruled out the possibilities of “match-fixing” being related to
Bob’s death as claimed by certain media reports. “Bob never spoke to
me about match fixing during any conversations we’ve had in the
past,” claimed Gill.
Imran Khan offers
his services to Pakistan Cricket Board
|In the meanwhile
Cricket great Imran Khan has offered his services to help restore
Pakistan’s status after its shocking exit from the World Cup.