Virat Kohli Shoaib Akhtar Manmohan Singh. Image Credits: AFP/X
A former Union Home Ministry official, RVS Mani, has claimed that Pakistani players used to smuggle drugs into India when they toured the country for playing cricket. Mani further asserted that some prominent former members of the Pakistani national cricket team had serious involvement in both worldwide drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.
He also named former Pakistan pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif as the main culprits. His claims were substantiated when, in 2013, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) banned Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif for using the banned substance, nandrolone.
RVS Mani served as a Central Secretariat Service officer. He served as undersecretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs' Internal Security Division from 2006 to 2010. They are now retired. In August 2013, RVS Mani retired voluntarily.
Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif self-confessed to smuggling drugs into India
RVS Mani, a former undersecretary of the Indian government's Ministry of Home Affairs, made a shocking revelation regarding Pakistani cricket players and delegation.
He claimed that players like Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif used to travel to India with a shipment of drugs. He claimed that before traveling to India, the Pakistani team engaged in drug trafficking.
"Look, the case has been reported that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who are cricketers, themselves admitted before the Pakistani high commissioner that they have brought drugs, after which they were sent back," he said on ANI.
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Bob Woolmer died because he came to know about Pakistan players’ involvement in drug smuggling
In addition, Mani asserted that Bob Woolmer sought to reveal the team's drug trafficking scheme, which is why he was killed during the 2007 Cricket World Cup in Jamaica.
On March 18, 2007, Bob Woolmer passed away. At the time, he was the Pakistan cricket team's coach. A day after losing to Ireland in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Pakistan was discovered comatose in the hotel room.
"Whenever Pakistan's delegation, team, or someone else came to India, they used to do drug trafficking. It was not for personal immersion. It happened on October 16. Then in March, after almost 6 months, Pakistan team English coach Bob Woolmer, who was protesting against drug trafficking by Pakistanis, was killed under suspicious circumstances,” Mani added.
According to Mani, this smuggling was done for more than simply personal gain. He asserted that anti-Indian terrorism and the Pakistani spy network were directly funded by the earnings.
India and Pakistan’s strained cricketing ties in recent times
India and Pakistan had resumed their cricketing ties in 2003-04 when India toured Pakistan for a full tour. Then, the two teams constantly clashed in bilateral series in India and Pakistan, respectively, until 2007. Then the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks happened, and everything got nuked.
Pakistani players, who were big buys in the inaugural IPL auction in 2008, were banned from IPL 2009 onwards and continue to remain banned in the Indian Premier League. Additionally, India and Pakistan last played a bilateral series in 2012-13 and now only play in ICC and ACC tournaments.
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