Karachi: Pakistan’s tainted former captain, Salman Butt, and some other Pakistani players are again in the spotlight after the ICC’s anti-corruption unit confirmed it was investigating the Ajman All Stars T20 League which was played recently in the UAE. The Emirates Cricket Board and Ajman Cricket Council have deemed the event ‘illegal’.
Butt and Mohammad Asif who have served five-year bans for spot-fixing between 2010 and 2016 were among a couple of Pakistani players who took part in the private tournament. The event attracted the attention of the ICC after visuals of some matches were aired which contained some questionable dismissals and behaviour on part of the players. Others who took part in the tournament were Hasan Raza and Muhammad Khalil.
The footage of the match which apparently was broadcast however, doesn’t include any of the Pakistani players.
Butt 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. 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,” Butt said Wednesday.
“I am happy the ICC is investigating the event because they were lot of flaws in it. I played just two games and then went away to Dubai,” Butt added. Butt informed he got out first ball in his opening game and in the second he scored around 70-odd runs. “I don’t know the exact score I got since there was no proper scorer around,” he stated.
Press Trust of India