Cricket: Pakistan Trio Risk Life Ban
Pakistani Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif risk life ban after they’ve been charged under anti-corruption code by the International Cricket Council. The three players have been judged in London after a spot-fixing scandal they were involved in. The International cricket body claimed that the cricketers won’t be able to take part at any form of cricket and related activities until the case is concluded, these still having the chance to appeal to an independent tribunal in 14 days. “We must be decisive with such matters and if proven these offences carry serious penalties up to a life ban,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
Thus, the trio is excluded in taking part of Pakistan’s next game against England on Sunday, match that will be disputed in Cardiff. The captain Butt and the other two opening bowlers have been also stripped by the mobile phones by the British Police, after an English newspaper read the players taken bribes to fix incidents in the final test against the same England at Lord’s last days. “It is important that we do not pre-judge the guilt of these three players. That is for the independent tribunal to decide,” Lorgat added, while Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan completed all of them are disturbed about what happen, these declaring themselves also innocent. “They said they are extremely disturbed at what has happened. They mentioned that they are entirely innocent,” commissioner said. Following a complete investigation, the British police arrested a 35-year-old suspect for defrauding bookmakers. Team’s manager Yawar Saeed decision of dropping the trio before the warm-up match against Somerset in Tauton was welcomed by Giles Clarke.
“The T20 squad for two games will remain as it is here this morning, this means 13 people. For the one-day internationals subsequently we will be asking for replacements to make up the squad of 16 again,” Saeed said at the time, while Clarke answered: “As chairman of the ICC’s (International Cricket Council) Pakistan task team I look forward to working with Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and everyone involved in taking forward cricket in Pakistan.” However, former Australian spinner Shane Warne said he would consider the ban life for the Pakistani trio and for anyone else who was part of the sport-fixing or behind the these scenes. “If it is true and they have been found (guilty of) match-fixing and throwing games and spot betting with the no-balls and stuff, if that’s the case they should be thrown out. If it’s fixed by players, they should be banned for life. Anyone who’s involved should be thrown out. The ICC have to flex their muscles and just go after Pakistan,” he said.
Warne himself was fined after admitting he had accepted some money from a bookmaker in 1994 and thought that once the ICC has an anti-corruption unit, this kind of scandals should vanish. “I thought that the game was clean now with the anti-corruption people there. Butif you look back over the incidents they’ve had in the past, you’d have to say no, they haven’t really flexed their muscles. So you’d hope that at this stage they can flex their muscles and show that they do run the game,” the Australian ended.11
