A brilliantly skilled fast bowler whose career was destroyed by the Lord's spot-fixing scandal and previous doping violations.
10 incidents documented
Bangladesh vs ICC
7 February 2026
Bangladesh refused to play T20 World Cup 2026 in India and were replaced by Scotland after the ICC rejected their security-concern relocation demand.
Pakistan
15 January 2016
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir's return to international cricket in 2016 after serving a five-year ban for spot-fixing divided opinion on whether redemption should be offered to match-fixers.
Pakistan
2 September 2015
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt's return to domestic cricket after his spot-fixing ban attracted fierce criticism, with many arguing a captain who fixed matches should never play again.
England vs Pakistan
26 August 2010
A News of the World sting exposed Pakistan captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif for deliberately bowling no-balls at pre-arranged moments during the Lord's Test, leading to criminal convictions and bans.
England vs Pakistan
26 August 2010
Pakistani captain Salman Butt, bowler Mohammad Amir, and bowler Mohammad Asif were caught in a News of the World sting arranging deliberate no-balls at precise moments during the Lord's Test.
Pakistan (internal incident)
15 June 2007
Shoaib Akhtar allegedly struck teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat in the dressing room during the 2007 World T20, leading to his expulsion from the squad.
Pakistan
1 November 2006
Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, the first man to bowl at 100 mph, was banned for two years after testing positive for the banned substance nandrolone, though the ban was later overturned on appeal.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
1984-04-06
Emirati businessman Abdul Rahman Bukhatir built a cricket stadium in Sharjah and, between 1981 and 1984, turned it into the first major neutral venue for international cricket — culminating in the inaugural 1984 Asia Cup.
West Indies vs Pakistan
11 June 1975
At Edgbaston on 11 June 1975, West Indies — chasing 267 to beat Pakistan in the first World Cup — fell to 203/9 with sixteen overs left and were within one wicket of an exit from a tournament they would, ten days later, win. Deryck Murray (61 not out) and Andy Roberts (24 not out) added 64 for the unbroken last wicket; West Indies won by one wicket with two balls remaining. The match is the first acknowledged thriller in World Cup history and is the moment without which the 1975 tournament has no Caribbean ending.
Pakistan vs England
3-8 June 1971
Zaheer Abbas made 274 against England at Edgbaston in June 1971 in only the second Test of his career — and his first in England — batting for nine hours and ten minutes, hitting 38 fours, and taking Pakistan to 608/7 declared. The innings, second only to Hanif Mohammad's 337 in Pakistani Test history at the time, announced Zaheer as the most prolific accumulator of his generation and earned him selection as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1972.