Pakistan test Captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif are withdrawn from the tour of England on the advice of the International Cricket Council (ICC).“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt was advised by the ICC not to consider the three players for selection until the investigations into alleged spot-fixing during the recent Test series against England are completed,” the source was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan told reporters in London the trio had asked to be withdrawn from matches against England because of the ‘mental torture’ they had undergone.
The source said the PCB was told in clear terms that the ICC could not have the three playing when they were still under investigation and their presence could cause problems for the England and Wales Cricket Board and bring into question the credibility of the matches.
Pakistan is due to play two T20 matches and five one-day internationals against England from Sunday.
However, former test captains Aamir Sohail and Zaheer Abbas backed the decision to drop the three.
“I think it is a sensible move because in their presence people would have serious doubts whether the results in the one-day series were fair,”
Abbas said the decision to sideline the players would increase the credibility of the PCB and highlight their intent on having zero-tolerance on corruption in cricket.
“If the players are proved innocent, the PCB can say we played our role in this fight against corruption,” he said.
Meanwhile, the selectors while announcing the one-day squad earlier this month had named wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, batsman Asad Shafiq, pace bowler Muhammad Irfan and left arm spinner Abdul Rehman as the standbys.
“We might have to pick someone from outside the standbys as we require an opener and two pace bowlers,” said the selector, who declined to be named. -Ftpapp
