England vs Pakistan: There were allegations of spot-fixing by three players of the Pakistan cricket team during the Test match against England at Lord’s, which later proved to be true. All three had to face the punishment.
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Pakistani cricketers – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir are notorious for fixing. All three were punished for spot-fixing in Pakistan’s Test match against England at Lord’s in 2010. A ban was also imposed on them. In the world of cricket, this incident is known as a blemish on the gentleman’s game. On February 5, the International Cricket Council, the apex body of cricket, took a decision to ban the trio.
ICC announced this punishment in 2011. The court found the three guilty in the spot-fixing case and then sentenced them. Butt was the captain of the Pakistan cricket team at that time. Asif and Amir are the main fast bowlers in the team. All three were alleged to have deliberately bowled no balls in the match, which were later found to be true.
Fixing chaos in the Mecca of cricket..
In 2010, the Pakistan team was on a tour of England. Both teams are playing the fourth Test match of the series at Lord’s ground. All three were caught fixing in this match. A tape of Mazar Majeed’s agent has surfaced. In it, he was seen discussing when to bowl no balls in this Test match. As the matter came to light, the ICC imposed a temporary ban on these three players. And then the trial continued. After that ICC banned Butt for 10 years, Asif for seven years and Amir for five years. However, Salman and Asif’s sentence was later reduced to five years. Amir was also banned for five years. Majeed was also sentenced to two years and eight months.
However, three appealed against the ban imposed on them. A London court in November 2011 shocked the trio and sentenced them to prison. Butt was sentenced to two years and six months. Asif was sentenced to one year in jail. Amir was sentenced to six months. But Aamir was released in 2012 after spending three months in jail.
Re-entry after apologizing..
After receiving the punishment, Butt was ashamed of his actions. He publicly apologized in 2013. Butt asked PCB chairman Najam Sethi to talk to the ICC to ease the ban on him and Asif. Addressing a press conference in Lahore, he said, “Shocked by the spot-fixing case. I apologize to all the fans and the whole country. I appeal to the Acting Chairman to appeal to the ICC to reduce the ban on me and Asif. I have two years left on my ban. “If the ICC allows me to play domestic cricket, I will be ready for international cricket by the time the ban ends,” he declared.
Back to cricket..
Amir signed with Karachi-based grade-2 team in January 2015 after the ICC allowed him to play domestic cricket. Amir was successful in making a comeback in the Pakistan team. The left-arm bowler played an important role in Pakistan’s victory in the Champions Trophy final against India with his brilliant performance. Butt and Asif also made a comeback in domestic cricket.
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