Pakistan drop Butt, Asif, Amir from rest of England tour
After days of speculation and denials, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decide to drop the three players – Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt - allegedly involved in match-fixing in the fourth Test match between England and Pakistan at Lord’s. This means that the three Pakistani cricketers will not be a part of the limited overs sides against England, that includes two T20Is and five ODIs.
However, minutes after announcing that the three had been dropped, the Pakistan's High Commissioner to the UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, said that they believed that the players were innocent till they were proved guilty and that the Pakistani government will fight for their cause in the court of law. Hasan also added that the reason behind their exclusion from the side was that they had themselves asked the cricket board to excuse them because of the amount of pressure that they had to face after the controversy broke out.
Hasan said, "The three players have said they are extremely disturbed with what has happened in the past one week, especially with regard to their alleged involvement in the crime," He also added that the players had said that they were innocent and had done nothing wrong.
Earlier, the players had arrived in London to meet the Pakistani High Commission and had to be protected by the police from a huge contingent of media camping outside his office.
Yawar Saeed, the manager of the Pakistani side had earlier announced that the three players will be excluded from the rest of the tour, but had offered no explanation why. Saeed also said that for the T20Is, the squad will have only 13 players, while three more players will be called at a later date for the ODIs.
The decision was welcomed by the English cricket board chief, Giles Clarke.
What was surprising was the absence of the PCB chairman, Ejaz Butt at the announcement. When quizzed about his absence, the High Commission said that Butt had been sent on another assignment.