LAHORE – The ICC has objected to Salman Butt being employed as a pundit during the Cricket World Cup. Butt is set to work for Pakistan’s Channel 5 during the competition. ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat was quoted by BBC: “We are not satisfied with this appointment. The [ICC] board expressed disappointment at the decision.”
The board has written to Michael Beloff QC, chair of the tribunal that banned Butt, to ask whether the player could be breaching the terms of his sentence. Former Pakistan captain Butt was banned for 10 years – five of them suspended – after being found guilty by an International Cricket Council tribunal of spot-fixing during his country’s Test series against England last summer.
His team-mates Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were also implicated during the series and banned – Asif for seven years, two of them suspended, and Amir for five years. The three cricketers still maintain their innocence and have the right to appeal against their bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
They are also facing criminal charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat and are due to appear in a London court on 17 March. Channel 5 plans to use Butt as a studio pundit during the World Cup, which takes place in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and begins on Saturday.
Butt said: “I got a good offer. Since I’m doing nothing I thought it would allow me to test a new area.”
