Man at centre of spot-fixing controversy is a familiar figure at cricket grounds around the world
Mazhar Majeed, the man at the centre of the spot-fixing controversy, is a familiar figure at cricket grounds around the world. It is among the higher echelons of the game in Pakistan that the UK-based property tycoon, who was last night releasaed on bail, appears to have gained the most influence.
The 35-year-old and his brother and business partner, Azhar Majeed, claim to manage several of Pakistan’s leading players and have contacts with senior figures in the Pakistan cricket board. According to CricInfo the pair first became friendly with the country’s young stars during Pakistan’s last tour of England, in 2006.
Since then Majeed appears to have cemented his role as the players’ go-to man in the financially lucrative world of sponsorship deals and marketing opportunities.
According to the News of the World, Majeed lives in a £1.8m house in Croydon, south London, and runs a property company, Bluesky Developments, with a multimillion-pound portfolio. Its website confirms Majeed set up the business in 1999 and on its front page it carries an advert for a charity event in “conjunction with the Pakistan cricket team” from 2007.
His role as confidant to the players is underlined on the UK-based website Pakpassion.
Several leading players mentioned Majeed or his brother during interviews with the site, and CricInfo says between 2008-09 the site had a regular section called The Agents Views, in which Azhar would update readers on the activities of a number of players.
This increasingly close relationship between Majeed and the players appears to have rung alarm bells with the Pakistani authorities and at the start of the tour the players were told they were no longer allowed to have agents in their hotel rooms – Guardian
