LAHORE – Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif have submitted different statements over the bowling of no-balls at the ICC tribunal hearing the trio’s case in a spot-fixing scandal.
According to BBC, the explanation by each player widely differed from the other two when the tribunal asked them various questions.
Two players reportedly said that they did not know why the no-balls were bowled, while one said he did it by mistake.
“During this whole process there have been plenty of leaks but we can categorically confirm that none of them have come from the ICC.”
The three Pakistan players, who are facing charges of spot-fixing, submitted their opening statements on Thursday during a marathon seven-hour session at the Qatar Financial Centre civil and commercial courts.
After that the ICC began unveiling the evidence that has been collected against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, believed to be a vast range of material including video footage and phone records; it is believed that this includes supporting evidence collected from the World Twenty20, held in the Caribbean last May before Pakistan’s tour to England.
That process is expected to continue and is likely to include appearances from a number of witnesses called by the ICC over the next few days, including Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis. Mazher Mahmood, the News of the World journalist who broke the story, is also expected to appear as a witness and the newspaper’s evidence is expected to be significant.
After that the players are expected to begin their defence and BBC reported that in their opening statements, the trio had already assumed different stances over the no-balls that were allegedly bowled at the behest of Mazhar Majeed.
spot-fixing scandal – Different statements may land trio in trouble
