Pakistan board unlikely to take on the ICC

PCB will not take on the ICC after the sudden suspension of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will not take on the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the sudden suspension of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir from all forms of cricket due to the spot-fixing allegations.

Though the PCB legal think-thank is awaiting the Scotland Yard report to decide their course of action, information coming from the top PCB officials suggests that the board will refrain from taking any action against the sport’s governing body.

“It’s very hard to go against the ICC at the moment since the board doesn’t even know the reality of the whole situation,” a PCB official told The Express Tribune.

The ICC charged the trio hours after the PCB announced it will not suspend them. The accused trio, however, ‘opted’ out of the limited-overs series citing mental trauma as a result of the allegations. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan was also upset at the shocking decision by the ICC.

PCB awaits Scotland Yard report

The PCB’s legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi has confirmed that the board is waiting for the Scotland Yard report on alleged spot-fixing to decide their course of action on suspension of the tainted trio.

“We’re working on a plan which can’t be completed before the report by the Scotland Yard comes out,” Rizvi told The Express Tribune from London before adding that the board has also taken the services of a local counsel for assistance in the case. “For us, the players are innocent until proven guilty.”

Board will assist trio in appeal process

According to a PCB official, the board will provide all legal and financial support to the players in making their appeals against the ICC-imposed suspension until any charges proven against them.

“The report [by Scotland Yard] is expected shortly but if it gets delayed, we’ll definitely help our players with the appeals process,” said the official.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2010.