why would all the money in sharjah be betted on pakistan ??
many indians there used to bet the money on india .
the sheikh of sharjah , abdul rehman bukhatir was openly pro-pakistan , and the establishment there used to ensure pakistani wins--in short , that of the muslim nation .
even the umpires used to be bought in favour of pakistan .
in 1991 , the umpire gave 3 LBWs to three balls in a row bowled by pakistani bowler aaqib javed to indian batsmen .
after this , india refused to play for the next 2 sharjah cups .
but abdul rehman bukhatir bribed indian board officials to make india come back in 1994.
now , of course no one gives a damn for sharjah . there's more money in indian cricket. but at that time indian board officials used to fall over each other to get monetary favours from the sheikh .
now of course , no one plays in sharjah for its match-fixing associations . but the indians realised this too late , after a lot of humiliation .
the australians had long stopped playing in sharjah , much before the indians did . the reason was the same--matches being fixed so that pakistan wins . but they stopped early because they have much more national pride than we do ; plus they were rich countries and dint need the moolah .
azhar played the minority card immediately after he was banned from cricket . he gave an interview saying that he was being targetted because he is a minority . its another matter that muslims themselves condemned him for it .