Butt back in spotlight after playing in dubious event in UAE

Pakistan's tainted former captain, Salman Butt, and some other Pakistani players are again in the spotlight after the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption unit confirmed it was investigating the Ajman All Stars T20 League held recently.

Karachi: Pakistan's tainted former captain, Salman Butt, and some other Pakistani players are again in the spotlight after the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption unit confirmed it was investigating the Ajman All Stars T20 League held recently.

Butt and Asif who have served five-year bans for spot-fixing between 2010 and 2016 were among a couple of Pakistani players who took part in the private tournament which apparently has caught the attention of the ICC after visuals of some matches were aired which contained some questionable dismissals and behaviour on part of the players.

Former Pakistan players, Hasan Raza, Muhammad Khalil and some others are said to have taken part in the private league which has been disowned and termed as illegal by the Emirates cricket board and Ajman Cricket Council.

The footage of the match which apparently was broadcast Don’t include any of the Pakistani players Butt who was captain when the spot-fixing scandal broke out in England in late 2010 confirmed he had played two matches of the league.

"I went there as I was not picked for the national regions one-day cup by Lahore and I was doing nothing. But when I reached there I realised it was just an amateur level event which had no match referee, ICC anti-corruption representative or even scorers," Butt told PTI.

"Since the spot-fixing scandal, I try to stay away as far as possible from any related controversies. I am happy the ICC is investigating the event because they were lot of flaws in it. But I played just two games and then went away to Dubai, he explained.

Butt said that he had got out first ball in the first match as he was told to play just three hours after reaching Dubai while in the second match he scored around 70 odd runs.

"I don’t know the exact score I got since there was no proper scorer around."

Butt made it clear he didn’t feature in the match footages which were aired on the social media and had come under scrutiny.

The former captain also disclosed that when he was made an offer to play in the Ajman all stars league he had told the organisers he would need some time to get NOCs from the PCB and his department, Wapda.

"But they told me it was a private tournament and not sanctioned so no NOC was required to play. When I went there I realised it was just a badly managed street level event and it made no sense to me."