By EMILY NASH
TERRIFIED Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider last night told The Sun of his flight to safety in the UK, revealing: "I was running for my life."
The 24-year-old sensationally quit international cricket yesterday after telling how threats from crooked bookies forced him to flee his team's hotel in Dubai and seek refuge in London.
With his family under armed guard in Pakistan and speaking from a secret location, he said: "The threat was so imminent, I had to leave. My life was at stake.
"Had I not flown out in time, you would have the news of my death. They would have killed me. They were chasing me."
Haider had been living in fear since scoring the match-winning 19 not out which led Pakistan to victory against South Africa in the fourth One Day International in Dubai last Friday.
He revealed the threats began before the crucial match.
Haider - who is claiming asylum in the UK - said: "I was approached by a bookie who wanted me to fix the fourth and fifth one-dayers.
"This person approached me while I had gone out of the hotel for dinner. He told me co-operate and I'd make a lot of money - or face the consequences.
"He said if I didn't then I would no longer be part of the team and they would make life very difficult. Until the last day I was not so scared, I did not take it seriously until the end of the fourth match."
As he flew to Britain on Monday, his side lost the final one-dayer. It gave South Africa a 3-2 victory in the series.
Describing his harrowing lone journey to the UK, Haider said: "I was not confident enough to speak to the team management about it because I didn't want to get my other team-mates into trouble.
On the run ... Haider fled after being asked to fix matches "I was running for my life. I was praying to God to save me."
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When I finally got on the plane I felt a little relieved, but then I thought of my family. I am still very concerned about them."
Haider has left behind his parents, older brother Raza and his sister in Pakistan. They were last night being guarded at home in Lahore by a dozen police officers.
The cricketer added: "My only concern now is the security of my family. I am very, very concerned. I want the Pakistan government to act and ensure my family is safe.
"There is no point in making myself secure and losing my family." Haider was yesterday interviewed by Scotland Yard, border control officials and members of the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. He said: "I will reveal the truth when I feel myself secure.
"I have not met any match fixers myself, except for the man who approached me, but I know some players have links with them. I can't name anyone right now but may do so in the future."
He added: "The fixing thing, we need to stop it for the sake of our country and the cricket. The bookmakers are among our ranks."
And Haider said he believed the corruption went right to the top.
He added: "I think influential people are involved. I have heard some influential politicians back the bookies. They run the government, so who can catch them?" Asked if he believed match-fixing had spread throughout the cricket world, the wicketkeeper replied: "Certainly."
The scandal is the latest to hit the Pakistan side after Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were suspended by the ICC for alleged spot-fixing during their August tour of England.
Last night ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said of Haider: "I don't think it was wise of him to have done what he did because it doesn't solve the problems." But he added: "We are serious about rooting out corruption from the game."
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http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...-Haider-seeks-asylum-in-UK.html#ixzz14t2XnXR6
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