Salman Butt, once banned for fixing, being considered for Pakistan Test Team
Salman Butt, 32, was the mastermind of the spot-fixing scandal that took place during Pakistan’s tour to England in 2010 and along with teammates – Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – was banned for five-years and served jail time
Salman Butt, after serving a ban for spot-fixing during a Pakistan-England Test, might soon make an international return. He is being considered for selection for the three-Test series in the West Indies in April after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) gave clearance to the national selection committee.
Butt, 32, was the mastermind of the spot-fixing scandal that took place during Pakistan’s tour to England in 2010 and along with teammates – Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – was banned for five-years and served jail time.
Read | Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt confesses to spot-fixing in 2010: Reports
Their bans expired in September, 2015, and while Butt has performed well in domestic cricket since then. Amir has made his way back into the national team last January.
The PCB has remained reluctant to give formal clearance for Butt to play for Pakistan again, always insisting it was upto the national selectors to decide his case.
Read | What it is to be Salman Butt; ex-Pakistan cricket captain’s career in balance
“Now the PCB has given its clearance and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has had a discussion with the national team’s head coach Mickey Arthur about probable selections for the Test series in the West Indies and Butt’s name has been discussed seriously,” a well-informed source told PTI.
He said Butt was likely to be called up for the national training camp that will be set up prior to the announcement of the squad.
(With inputs from PTI)