ICC suspends tainted trio, Pak sees conspiracy in the action

Fri, Sep 03 10 07:57 PM

London, Sep 3 (PTI) For the first time in its history, ICC today suspended Pakistan''s Test captain Salman Butt and his two teammates accused of ''spot-fixing'', prompting an angry outburst from Pakistan which saw a "conspiracy" and sought to insinuate that its President Sharad Pawar may have had a hand. Five days after the scandal rocked world cricket, the ICC cracked the whip by suspending the tainted trio of Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir but declined to specify the charges brought against them. On a day marked by a war of words between the ICC and Pakistan, the spotlight was on the players as well as they were subjected to a fresh round of interrogation by the Scotland Yard. The ICC said the three players have been notified officially of the offences they are alleged to have committed and have been provisionally suspended pending a decision on the charges. "In accordance with the provisions of the code, this means they are immediately barred from participating in all cricket and related activities until the case has been concluded," the ICC said in a statement. "They have a right to contest the provisional suspension and a further opportunity to defend these charges at a full hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal in accordance with Article 5 of the code," it added. But within hours of the suspension, Pakistan''s High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan threatened to sue the ICC for its unethical decision of suspending the players and sought to insinuate that Pawar had a hand in the decision. Hasan said the ICC was trying to make Pakistan a "scapegoat" for its inefficiency. "The three players met me and requested me to ask the Pakistan Cricket Board not to consider them for the rest of the series because they wanted to clear their name and honour. Accordingly, I conveyed their request to PCB chief Ijaz Butt who accepted it but all of a sudden the ICC came out with the notice," he said. "When Lorgat came to me, I told him that the players themselves had opted out and how ECB chairman Giles Clarke was happy with their decision. "I heard him (Lorgat) talking to Pawar. I don''t know what transpired between them but immediately after that he left my office and prepared a 5-page notice and handed it to the players. There seems to be a conspiracy to keep Pakistan out," he added. But the ICC rejected Pakistan''s claims and said clear indications were given about the impending action. It also said the three cricketers have a "case to answer" and described the scandal as the "next worst after the Hansie Cronje case." More PTI Team MRM PM

Source: Published>