PAKISTAN batsman Yasir Hameed faces being interviewed by the ICC's anti-corruption unit as part of its match-fixing investigation, but his reliability as a witness has been called into question by his teammates.
The ACU detectives will be free to speak with Hameed as he is not part of the criminal investigation being carried out by Scotland Yard and it is likely he will be asked to explain comments made on film to an undercover reporter at the weekend during which he stated Pakistan were ''fixing almost every match''.
Hameed's comments added to the pressure around Pakistan, who are facing the prospect of another player being charged by the ICC.
''We want to be prompt and decisive on this matter,'' said Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive of the ICC. ''It is not something we want to drag our heels on and as soon as we are in a position to make charges and disclosures we will do so.''
Hameed's nickname within the Pakistan team is ''Bacha'', which means ''child'' in Urdu, and his naivety in talking with such openness to a complete stranger just days after the story of spot fixing during the Lord's Test broke is startling.
''He [Hameed] is 30-31 but mentally he is 15-16,'' said Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan one-day captain. ''I don't know who he was sitting with or in what situation he gave this message but we have known him for a long time. We know we can expect anything from him and he does this kind of thing. People know what type of character he is.''
Hameed was summoned to the Pakistan High Commission in London on Sunday for a meeting with Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Hameed later issued an affidavit through the commission claiming his comments to the News of the World were simply a repeat of the allegations made against Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif that had already been reported by the media. He claims he was duped into talking with the newspaper's investigative journalist Mazher Mahmood, believing him to be a sponsor offering a £50,000 ($84,000) deal.
He said two days later the same man called him and offered £25,000 to give a statement against the three players under investigation, which he refused. Hameed then claimed to have received a text threatening to expose him drinking wine during the interview, a potentially damaging allegation against a Muslim during Ramadan.
Meanwhile, the idea of a match-fixing amnesty has been put forward by the Professional Cricketers' Association.
Lorgat later suggested pace sensation Amir's tender age of 18 may help him escape stringent punishment, such as a life ban, in case he is found guilty of spot-fixing allegations.
