Pakistan instruct players to be careful of 'strangers'

Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer have been provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) following spot-fixing allegations during the recent tour of England. Recently, wicket-keeper batsman Zulqarnain Haider retired after threat from bookies.

But Syed Arif Hasan, president of the Pakistan Olympic Association, said he was confident there would be no repeat at the Games. “We’ve tried to take care of it to make sure nothing of the sort happens,” Hasan said.

“We’ve specifically instructed them to be careful of strangers and unknown people.” Pakistan will be fielding a second-string men’s team in Guangzhou, where a week-long women’s tournament will be followed by the men’s competition, with all matches being played in the Twenty20 format.