Pakistan player excluded from Wisden list

Editor says only four cricketers named this year for its 2011 edition because of the Pakistan spot-fixing scandal.

LONDON:

The Wisden Cricketers Almanack has broken with more than 80 years of tradition by naming only four Cricketers of the Year instead of the usual five.

Since 1926 the cricketing bible has named five players with the biggest impact on the English summer but reduced the number this year to reflect last year’s spot-fixing scandal. Three Pakistan players – Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, and Salman Butt – were banned by the International Cricket Council for their spot-fixing role last year.

Wisden would not say which of the players would have been on the list but it is likely to have been Amir, the bowling sensation during last year’s series against England.

The news overshadowed the nominees who made the shortened list – Tamim Iqbal, Eoin Morgan, Chris Read and Jonathan Trott.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th,  2011.