“Pakistani Cricket Team Brought Drugs To India”: RVS Mani’s Explosive Claim Sparks Row

Former MHA Under Secretary RVS Mani has alleged that Pakistani cricket teams and delegations trafficked drugs during visits to India. In an ANI podcast, he named former cricketers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif and linked narcotics trafficking to terror financing. Mani also suggested that Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer opposed such activity before his 2007 death. However, these serious allegations have not been independently verified. Public records confirm Akhtar and Asif faced a 2006 nandrolone doping case, but do not establish Mani’s India-smuggling claim. Jamaican police later said Woolmer died of natural causes, while an inquest officially returned an open verdict.