Butt’s admission of guilt

After using up all cards in the deck, former opener is now looking to take opportunity of a new chairman at the helm.

After vehemently denying his involvement, disgraced Pakistan cricketer and former captain Salman Butt admitted to and apologised for his role in the spot-fixing scandal that brought much shame to the country. Two years after the International Cricket Council (ICC) found him, as well as fast-bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir guilty of taking money in exchange for deliberately contriving no-balls during the fourth Test against England, during the 2010 tour of the country, Butt was “apologetic” for the pain he caused to fans and the country. He was banned from all cricketing activity for at least five years and also put behind bars in the UK.

Butt’s admission of guilt comes after he has done time in jail, appealed to the ICC, as well as to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, only for his appeals to be dismissed each time. Only last year, after being released from jail and returning to the country, he insisted that he was innocent. However, delving deeper into his statement, given on June 28, we clearly get the impression that after using up all the cards in the deck, the former opener is now looking to take the opportunity of a new chairman at the helm, namely Najam Sethi, and find a way that would enable him to make his comeback. Mr Sethi recently stated that he would make a plea to the ICC to reduce the duration of Amir’s ban. This statement seems to have alerted Butt and he appears to now look to earn a similar favour through a manipulative, apologetic press conference.

Is this what our country has been reduced to? Do the supporters of the national team want to give a chance to a corrupt player, who not only committed corruption himself but also led one of the brightest stars in Pakistan cricket on the same dreaded path? His manipulation aside, Butt, the “orchestrator” of the spot-fixing saga, needs to spend time off the field and made to regret his actions — actions that let down the fans and the country after raising their hopes when he was made captain.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2013.

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