LAHORE: The International Cricket Council on Wednesday rejected Salman Butt’s request to delay the spot fixing hearing after holding a teleconference with the lawyers of other suspended players Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
The hearing will take place from January 6 as scheduled. Butt had sought delay in the appeal. Salman’s lawyer had pleaded that since the Scotland Yard was yet to announce its decision or level any charges in the spot-fixing scam, the hearing of the ICC was better postponed.
According to report, Salman’s lawyer wanted a favourable decision from Scotland Yard ahead of the ICC hearing. The ICC, on receiving request from Salman, held a teleconference to seek views of fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir who refused to attend the teleconference. The conference was attended by the lawyers representing the trio.
It was learnt that Mohammad Amir was against the idea of delaying next month’s spot-fixing hearing as he was looking for a quick verdict on the issue. Amir said that he wanted a quick verdict so that he could make the cut for Pakistan’s team for World Cup 2011 that gets underway in February.
The Scotland Yard, soon after the eruption of the spot-fixing saga, completed its inquiry and handed over the findings to the Crown Prosecutor Service which is the main authority to decide whether to charge the players in the scam or not. – Pakistantoday
