The Pakistan Cricket Board will not allow Salman Butt or Mohammad Asif back into domestic professional cricket before a thorough proving process.
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Najam Sethi, chairman of the PCB’s influential executive committee, said the Board had planned special rehabilitation programs for the two players whose spot-fixing bans expire on September 1, allowing them to return to cricket.
Newly-appointed worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) president Zaheer Abbas had said earlier this week that the PCB should show flexibility and must be willing to play the series in India in order to ensure the revival of cricketing ties.
According to sources, PCB officials want the duo to attend an anti-corruption lecture before returning to cricket. Pakistan Cricket Board chief Najam Sethi indicated a long rehabilitation program for over a couple of months before the troika can play first-class cricket again. It cannot stop players from playing but can restrict them. “Meanwhile, we are allowing them to play club cricket and grade 2 cricket, the same policy we adopted with Amir”. Now ICC, hands over the case to PCB.
The PCB and the BCCI had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last year, which states that the two nations will play six bilateral series over the next eight years. “We will tell the region to they can not play until they prove their ability at the low level”, Shaharyar said. “We do not have many options but those we do we will work on them”. They can’t walk back in the system with the reputation they had five years ago. Salman, who will turn 31 in October, and Asif, who will be 33 this December, were set to represent Lahore Blue in the upcoming national T20 cup.
Khan said he had met and briefed Sartaj Aziz, the national security advisor to the Pakistan Prime Minister, on the existing situation in Indo-Pak cricket relations and asked him to take up the issue with the Indians.
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He revealed, however, that most of the players are expected to be from Pakistan but, he said that he would be trying to bring in cricketers from other prominent cricket countries including Australia, England and India as well.
