The ICC might have confirmed that the tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir can return to cricket after the expire of their bans, but a divided house seems to have emerged in Pakistani cricket fraternity over whether they should be allowed to represent the national team again.
Airing his views on the issue, former skipper Rashid latif said he is totally against any such move. “I will not support their comeback to international cricket simply because they will replace someone who might not be as talented as them but has done nothing ethnically or morally wrong and had not indulged in corruption,” latif said.
“This is the biggest injustice you can do to players who play clean cricket. “It is not just latif who is against trio’s return others have also urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to just allow them to play domestic cricket.
“The way I look at this situation it is very wrong for that person to play again for Pakistan who has been involved in corruption and cheating. It is not right for those players who have played by the rules,” latif said.
latif was the whistleblower on the corruption prevailing in the Pakistan team in the 90s which led to several match fixing inquiries and eventually the Justice Malik Qayyum report which recommended a life ban on Salim Malik and Ata ur Rehman and fines for five other players for not cooperating.
PCB seek clarification
Faced with divided opinion on allowing tainted cricketers Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif to make a comeback to the domestic and international cricket, PCB on Thursday sought clarification from the ICC on the issue.
The ICC confirmed on Wednesday that the sanctions against Asif and Butt will expire at midnight on 1st September. A well-placed source in the PCB said that the Board was also caught by surprise by the ICC statement.
"With regard to the ICC’s announcement on lifting of sanctions against Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif the PCB has sought further clarification from the ICC. Until the world body’s response has been received and evaluated, PCB shall not be making any further comment," the PCB said.