Match-fixing was at its peak in 1996, says Shoaib Akhtar

"Trust me it was the worst possible dressing room environment at that time (1996)," Akhtar told Geo News channel, on Monday.

"There was a lot going on than just cricket and it was difficult to focus on cricket in the dressing room. It was a bad environment," he added.

These comments have come after former Pakistani all-rounder Javed Miandad recently claimed that Shahid Afridi had fixed matches for money. In a reply to these allegations, Afridi threatened to sue the former all-rounder if he did not apologize. But soon enough, the duo buried the dispute which could have brought up the match-fixing scandal in Pakistan cricket to the surface again.

"I tell you if this matter had gone to court there would have been more dirty linen washed in public and lot of names would have again come up," Akhtar said about the controversy.

Akhtar also said that in 2010, he had advised left-arm pacer Muhammad Aamir to keep away from questionable characters.

“I told him(Aamir) he had a big future ahead of him and he should be careful about the company he kept. Unfortunately it all led to the spot-fixing scandal in 2010,” the 41-year old said.