Veena Malik

THE ex-girlfriend of shamed Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif revealed last night that she had death threats after speaking out about the match-fixing scandal.

Pakistan TV beauty Veena Malik, 27, received a chilling warning at home after handing evidence of fast bowler Asif’s dealings with an Indian
bookie to the International Cricket Council.

And an earlier email, seen and verified by The Sun, ordered her: “Don’t talk to the media, keep your mouth shut bitch. I will kill you, watch what I do.”

She said: “I was also visited two weeks ago by a man who gave me a message to say someone was going to come after me – and there would be no warning. I can’t sleep at night because I fear for my life.

“But if I have to die, I will die. I’m not scared of threats. I warned the Pakistan Cricket Board about match-fixing eight months ago but I was ignored. Now people have to speak out.”

Asif, 27, is one of three Pakistan players suspended and sent home amid allegations of “spot-fixing” by bowling deliberate no-balls during last month’s Fourth Test against England.

Veena has previously told India’s Hindustan Times that Asif beat her up at a party after becoming jealous of another man.

Bravely refusing to be silenced by shadowy forces behind cricket match-fixing, she told The Sun: “The allegations have damaged my country’s image. People always considered cricket a gentleman’s game.

“But the ICC and Scotland Yard are big and serious institutions. They would not be investigating without good reason.”

Veena said she discovered Asif was involved in match-fixing after calling a number in India that kept appearing on his phone bills – because she believed it was another woman.

She said: “I knew he was cheating on me. I had twice caught him red-handed with dancers who he brought to my home, but he kept begging me to forgive him.

“I knew he had women all over the world. I rang this number thinking it was another one.

“But a man answered. He claimed they were working on commercial campaigns together.

“Asif went to Thailand without telling me. When he returned he finally admitted he met an Indian man to set up a deal.”

Prayers

Veena later listened in as the man told Asif on the phone: “We spent a lot of money on you and you’ve made a commitment to us.”

She said: “They were offering Asif £25,000 to play badly but he said he needed £128,000. It was a couple of weeks before Pakistan’s tour of Australia.

“One day I told him I was praying for them to win. He replied, ‘Why are you wasting your time? We are not going to win anything until December 2010′. When I realized what he meant, I told him it was over between us and I decided to talk about it.”

She said of match-fixing: “Players may be doing it out of fear because they’re getting threats, or because some just want to make quick money.

“There is corruption in Pakistan. Everybody is aware of it but it’s not safe to speak about it. Pakistan cricketers are treated like gods but they come from very humble backgrounds and most of them are not very well educated or psychologically prepared for fame. They always feel insecure. Every player just wants to stay in the team to keep making money. Asif would do anything to keep making money.”

Veena, who dated the cricket star for nearly two years, said: “He would never mention any names, but he would say, ‘I’m not the only one involved’. He said other players had been involved in the past and many still were.”

Asif spent 19 days in jail in 2008 after being caught with opium at an airport in Dubai – but Veena said he told her he was set up by bookies. Veena recalled: “He claimed he hadn’t managed to fix something on the pitch, so he had been punished by the bookies. He didn’t want to get into it but they had told him they were going to finish his career.

“He also told me he handed over money to avoid a lifetime ban after failing a dope test in India.

“He said, ‘Money can buy anything, money can buy everything. I paid the money and now I’m OK’.”

Veena and Asif split in February – but she claimed their relationship was doomed by his heavy drinking.

She said: “He was often drunk. I asked him to stop but he would not. I wish I had never been involved with him.” The Sun has seen documents Veena handed over to ICC officials to back up her allegations.

She hit back at claims by Pakistan cricket officials that she was trying to get revenge on Asif because he refused to marry her.

She said: “They are trying to discredit me. But as a cricket lover, I believe the game must be fair and it’s my moral duty to speak out.

“I am sad that all this will kill cricket. It will take a lifetime for fans to trust the players again.

“These guys think they are invincible. But they have to be punished.”

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