LAHORE: Pakistan’s tainted former captain, Salman Butt, and some other Pakistan players are again in the spotlight after the International Cricket Councils anti-corruption unit confirmed it was investigating the Ajman All Stars T20 League held recently. Salman and Asif who have served five-year bans for spot-fixing between 2010 and 2016 were among a couple of Pakistan players who took part in the private tournament which apparently has caught the attention of the ICC after visuals of some matches were aired which contained some questionable dismissals and behaviour on part of the players. Former Pakistan players, Hasan Raza, Muhammad Khalil and some others are said to have taken part in the private league which has been disowned and termed as illegal by the Emirates Cricket Board and Ajman Cricket Council. The footage of the match which apparently was broadcast don’t include any of the Pakistan players. Salman who was captain when the spot-fixing scandal broke out in England in late 2010 confirmed he had played two matches of the league. “I went there as I was not picked for the national regions one-day cup by Lahore and I was doing nothing. But when I reached there I realised it was just an amateur level event which had no match referee, ICC anti-corruption representative or even scorers,” Salman was quoted as saying. “Since the spot-fixing scandal I try to stay away as far as possible from any related controversies. I am happy the ICC is investigating the event because they were lot of flaws in it. But I played just two games and than went away to Dubai,” he explained.
Published in Daily Times, February 1st 2018.