LAHORE – National Bank of Pakistan has terminated the contracts of the spot-fixing trio following the ban on players by the ICC tribunal. The three Pakistan cricketers, banned for a minimum five years for corruption, have been sacked from the bank. An official of the bank said that the contract of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were not renewed and the move came after the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption tribunal found them guilty of spot-fixing in the fourth Test against England last year.
The three players had their contracts terminated by the bank in backdate recently, a report said. “Their contracts ended on 31st December, 2010, and we waited until February 5 for the decision of the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-corruption tribunal to come out before sacking them in backdate,” Iqbal Qasim, former Test spinner and sports head of the bank, reported to have said. Qasim said the bank had waited until the decision came from the ICC tribunal before releasing them. “Once they were found guilty in spot-fixing, we had no choice but to release them from their contracts,” he said.
Qasim, who also served as chief selector until last year, said it was a tough decision for the bank as the trio had always been cooperative and done well for the bank. “It was a sad decision but once they were found guilty the bank rules say you can’t employ such persons,” he said. Qasim said the bank management was also shocked when the trio was first alleged to be involved in spot-fixing.
“It was shocking for all of us to learn about this. Yes they never played many matches for the bank because of their international commitments, but when they were available, there were never any issues with them,” he said. The Pakistan Cricket Board has said that it would soon start implementing the decision of the ICC tribunal to start having the banned trio attend special anti-corruption classes and to educate them on reforms.
During the period of their bans, the three would not be allowed to take part in any cricket activity or event organised by the ICC or member boards.
