Sports

'Salman went up to Afridi and apologised with tears in his eyes'

An eye witness' account on the meeting between the two players at NCA

Sports Desk September 18, 2015

Pakistan team is participating in a national camp before the Zimbabwe series. PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan's disgraced batsman Salman Butt was sighted by an onlooker apologising to the T20 captain Shahid Afridi at National Cricket Academy, Lahore.

Pakistan team is participating in a national camp before the Zimbabwe series which will start from September 27.

"Butt, who is coming to the NCA to train, went up to Afridi in the presence of some other players and with tears in his eyes apologised to him," one witness said, as quoted by NDTV.

"Butt told Afridi he was sorry for what had happened in England and that he should have listened to his (Afridi's) advice. He asked the Pakistan T20I captain to forgive him for his role in the spot-fixing scandal. Afridi kept quiet and then, obviously embarrassed by the situation, mumbled to Butt that he should focus on his cricket."

Butt along with bowlers Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir were part of the spot-fixing scandal during the 2010 Lord’s Test against England. The trio was later banned by International Cricket Council for five years and also served time in a United Kingdom jail.

The five-year ban ended on September 1 and the players were allowed to play after taking permission from the respective board.

The cricket fraternity is divided on whether the players should be allowed to make a comeback in the team or not with some suggesting that it would be unfair to the young crickters and will set a bad example, while some believe that they deserve a second chance at redemption.

A source close to the players quoted by the Press Trust of India said some of the national team players were uncomfortable to see Butt, Asif and Aamir at the NCA training alongside the players and had conveyed this to their team management.

COMMENTS (19)

jawad khaN | 8 years ago | Reply Well i think everyone deserves a second chance,,they should be given a second chance as well..Pakistani bowling is struggling currently, with addition of asif and amir our bowling lnie up will get stronger and after retirement of misbah we need experience player like salman.

khalid | 8 years ago | Reply @Adnan: agreed

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Shahid | 8 years ago | Reply @Adnan: You seriously need therapy if you want to lead a normal life. What are you saying??

Adnan | 8 years ago | Reply Well, All of three have gone through their punishment against the charges. Now they should be allowed to return in Cricket. If they perform, they can be selected for national team. This is really unfair that someone has already faced the punishment and you are not allowing them to comeback. Do someone remember about Shane Warne and Mark Waugh incidence about giving important information to bookies?

Abbassin | 8 years ago | Reply Ring alarm bells and keep this guy and M. Asif away from NCA and other players.As for tears in his eyes, do not believe him for a minute-they are nothing more than "Crocodile" tears.

Abdul Rahman Khan | 8 years ago | Reply Why this shameless person is being given space in the media? He has done enough to bring bad name to Pakistan. Does he still want to do more.

Khan | 8 years ago | Reply @Zeb: Just a few clarification to people like you who support these crooks. 1. Not every politician is corrupt and not every vote for the bad ones .. It is because of people who do not vote that the crooks get elected. The main purpose of the democratic system is vetting of corrupt and incompetent politicians. 2. Forgiveness is one thing and assigning known thief as your guard is another. 3. Mohd Aamir the so called invincible and incredible talented player has only taken 25 wickets but we hail him some kind of super duper legend. 4. We have never punished them for the crimes they committed .. we never confiscated the money they earned while cheating the nation. We never put them behind bars is that no enough? whatever so called punishment they got was from the U.K government not Pakistan. 5. They are not after just few lac rs they will earn from few games in future but are looking for the position they had to get millions by cheating again since they know they will only get banned and nothing else.

the Skunk | 8 years ago | Reply There is a very famous maxim: "No man is indispensable." It's obvious the PCB has no principles of moral conduct. The meaning of the word "deserter," is totally Iost on them because the word does not exist in their glossary. These three players are absolutely dispensable and cricket can do without them. Again, "No man is indispensable." We have been playing cricket and winning and losing, and in fact, ours is now a much better team. Aamer should be kept under the strictest scrutiny. These three players have made it almost irreparable to bring back the lost image of our country's cricket activities. The world will not forget this easily. Salams

Zohaib | 8 years ago | Reply Dear Mr. Butt! Why did not you go for it before lifting the ban?? we know what you want to do such things you want SYMPATHY... but there isn't any.

Ashraf | 8 years ago | Reply After doing all the drama proclaiming his "innocence" and all the conspiracy theories, now he wants to apologize? This man has ZERO principles.

Notofixers | 8 years ago | Reply @ Woz Ahmed, NOT all of them are in the same boat. Aamir deserves another chance, he was a teenager, who was misled. If you choose not to believe that, then dont. The fact of the matter is, he is and was one of the greatest talents in Paks history. Most pak fans want him back, even if you dont. Yes we can, and yes we will pick Aamir to come back. a) Because he was a teenager, and was misled, and should be given a second chance b) He is one of the best we could ever have, and is badly needed if we want to win the world cup, and beat india in a world cup!

Ch. Allah Daad | 8 years ago | Reply The Nation's attitude towards these three miscreants would have been much softer if they had shown zero interest to play again. But their anxiousness, lobbying with evils, excuses, crocodile tears and shameless smiles have hardened our stance.

Adeel | 8 years ago | Reply Butt said he should have listened to Afridi. Does that mean Afridi knew? If it is so then I will just quote Edmund Burke "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

Zeb | 8 years ago | Reply So what about the criminal politions who have robbed Pakistan over and over again but yet people like you all knowingly will have them re elected by voting for them. So please don't talk rubbish, eve the almighty Allah says to ask for forgiveness from him and he shall forgive. Everyone deserves a second chance.

Anon | 8 years ago | Reply "players quoted by the Press Trust of India" Press trust of India! Are there no newspapers in Pakistan that we have to take press trust of India as a reference for a news taking place in Pakistan. How did Indian newspapers get access to these anonymous players when our media could not?

Iqbal Hadi Zaidi | 8 years ago | Reply Criminal accepts criminal and there cannot be two opinions about it so all the three simply are not entitled to play cricket whatsoever in their lives at least for Pakistan. They should be hooted even if they play on streets. What a shame they disgraced Pakistan nation as a whole. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait / zaidi4merdiplomat@hotmail.com

Woz Ahmed | 8 years ago | Reply @Notofixers: They are all criminals who broke the law, but more importantly cheated us fans , we must send a clear message, your not welcome back into cricket, we can't pick and choose !

Jabolo | 8 years ago | Reply He should be apologizing to the nation and never set foot in NCA again!! Shame on him for disgracing the green shirt!!

Notofixers | 8 years ago | Reply If you were actually a consistent and good batsmen, this would be worth discussing, BUTT you're not. So, the only one we want back is Aamir. Not you or Asif. Pak needs to move on, and you two need to just go away.

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