Daily Times

LAHORE: Urging equal treatment under prescribed laws for all spot-fixers who serve their punishment, chief selector Inzamamul Haq has signalled Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif – like Mohammad Amir – can return to national duty. Speaking as a guest of the Lahore Press Club here the other day, Inzamam, while saying that the three players committed a major wrong by getting involved in spot-fixing during the 2010 tour of England, underscored all of them should be treated equally as they had completed punishment. “They were penalised by the ICC. However, only Amir made a comeback to the national team after completing the five-year ban,” added Inzamam, who retired from international cricket after featuring in 120 Tests and 378 ODIs. “All the players involved in spot-fixing cases should be penalised under the laws of the International Cricket Council and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Then after completing their punishment they can come back to national team,” reckoned Inzamam, who quit international cricket in 2007.

Commenting on the ongoing PSL spot-fixing case, Inzamam lamented that opener Sharjeel Khan, who along with four other cricketers is presently suspended over his alleged involvement in the case, was a good batsman but the entire cricketing career of the left-hander was now in jeopardy. Amid reported tussle between the PCB and the FIA over the ongoing probe into PSL spot-fixing scandal, the chief selector insisted that the PCB was an independent body which, he said, was in a position to take its own decisions.

Meanwhile, Inzamam said the successful staging of the high-profile PSL final in Lahore was a major step towards international cricket revival in Pakistan. Expressing his views on Mohammad Hafeez’s selection in the national squad for the forthcoming West Indies tour, Inzamam said the seasoned top-order batsman was picked after he passed the physical fitness test.

Inzamam clears the air over Sohail’s non-selection: To a question, Inzamam said that head coach Mickey Arthur had no role in the non-selection of right-arm pacer Sohail Khan. Sohail, adjudged the best bowler of the recently concluded Pakistan Super League, was overlooked for the limited-overs series which are going to face West Indies in the upcoming series. “Arthur didn’t tell us to drop Sohail and former ODI captain Azhar Ali from the ODI and T20I squads,” cleared Inzamam.

The 47-year-old then shed light on other selections made for the four-T20I and three-ODI series in the Caribbean. “Kamran Akmal was selected as a batsman because of his consistent performances in the domestic circuit and during the PSL2,” said Inzamam. “Limited-overs captain Sarfraz Ahmed will keep the wickets even in the presence of Kamran.”