Friday, March 22, 2002 When Pakistan's cricket stars gather next week for a gala celebrating the tenth anniversary of their World Cup win, one man will shuffle uneasily as he receives his award. He will think that he is lucky to be there, his former team-mates will be conscious of being caught on camera laughing about the past, and the public will wonder what his presence means for the honour of Pakistan cricket. I'm not against rehabilitation, but including Salim Malik among the heroes of Pakistan cricket is akin to recognising Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter as one of the greatest chefs of the last 50 years.

This is another bungle from the Pakistan Cricket Board, whose excuse for Malik's presence is that he was just another member of the 1992 World Cup-winning squad, all of whom have been invited. A second justification that has been floated is that Malik's match-fixing antics began in 1994, which means that he was clean during that World Cup. Neither excuse is excusable.

Malik was one of the finest batsmen in Pakistan's history. Over 5000 Test runs at an average of over 40, and over 7000 one-day runs at an average of over 30 rank him as a statistical great. Ever since he scored a hundred on debut, in 1981-82, he was a regular in the middle order. His wristy elegance had a grace and allure that eludes most batsmen. In particular, he drove effortlessly square of the wicket, and his timing when playing off his pads was exquisite. Some of his most memorable triumphs came against Shane Warne, especially in that ill-fated 1994-95 series, and at Headingley, which belied Imran Khan's description of him as a flat-track bully.

We cannot know what Malik did before 1994. Maybe he was clean, maybe he was not, but you can only assume the worst. And his part in the 1992 World Cup was that of a passenger - he was along for the ride but never influenced the journey. Imran had no faith in him. In his autobiography, All Round View, Imran recalls Pakistan's innings in the final and says: "I had no confidence in Malik either against the moving ball or in a crisis." Which probably explains why Malik's role in that World Cup victory was so minor, although he did have enough opportunity to change his captain's opinion.

Malik did more than enough with the willow to be considered one of the heroes of Pakistan cricket, but he undid it all with shady deals and fixed results. He sold Pakistan's honour down the Indus. The PCB should have had no qualms about leaving him out of its extravaganza. Salim Malik, like every other offender, needs to be rehabilitated - but that does not mean that he should be regaled. This is Pakistan's golden jubilee of playing international cricket. It has begun with a golden balls-up.

Kamran Abbasi, born in Lahore, brought up in Rotherham, is assistant editor of the British Medical Journal. His Asian View appears on Wisden.com every Friday.

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