Sun, Oct 31 10 10:26 PM
Karachi, Oct 31 (PTI) The ICC''s decison to reject Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamer''s appeals against their suspensions for alleged involvement in spot-fixing has evoked mixed reactions from the cricket community in Pakistan, with former leg-spinner Abdul Qadir terming the whole process as "farce". "It is total farce. If the ICC wasn''t interested in revoking the suspensions, why go through this farce at all?" Qadir questioned. Qadir lashed out at the ICC for its double standards, in a thinly-veiled reference to Indian batsman Suresh Raina, who was also suspected of having links with a woman alleged to have worked for a bookmaker during the team''s tour of Sri Lanka. "The Sri Lankan board even sent a report to the Indians about it but nothing has been done so far and the matter was hushed up by the ICC and Raina continues to play," Qadir said. "As things stand there is suspicion about Raina''s links with the woman and the same is the case with our players against whom nothing has been proved. Yet they remain suspended and the Indian batsman is free to play on," the former leggie said. "I say bring Raina also into the dock," he added. The ICC code of conduct commissioner Michael Beloff today rejected the appeals of Test captain Butt and young left-arm pacer Aamer. Fast bowler Asif had also challenged the suspension, but withdrew his appeal later. After the tribunal''s decision, quite a few former players said they had felt all along that until the spot-fixing allegations against the players were cleared, the suspensions would remain in place. Former captain Rashid Latif told PTI that until Scotland Yard submits its findings into the case to the ICC, suspensions of all the three players should be removed. "The real issue remains the spot-fixing allegations and I think until Scotland Yard submits its findings, the ICC should remove these suspensions. "I know it must be disappointing for the players to not have their suspensions removed but they must now prepare for the full hearing because the spot-fixing allegations are serious ones," said Latif. Former captain Asif Iqbal said the outcome of the tribunal hearing was expected. "What worries me is the long time taken in the hearing, which indicates the anti-corruption unit must have submitted plenty of evidence and brief to the commissioner," Iqbal said. He also noted that the ICC only imposed the suspensions because the Pakistan Cricket Board didn''t withdraw the trio from the tour of England when the allegations first surfaced. PTI Corr SHN AH
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