Jailed Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir could be deported from Britain once they finish their terms.
The trio were found guilty by the Southwark Crown Court of spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan last August.
Butt and Asif have been sentenced to 30 months and 12 months in prison respectively. Amir, 19, got a lighter punishment of six months after he pleaded guilty. The trio’s agent Mazhar Majeed, a British citizen, has also been sentenced to 32 months in jail.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Home Office rules state that overseas prisoners serving jail terms of a year or more face deportation at the end of their sentences. Amir’s deportation will depend on whether he has a valid visa at the time of release.
“The Border Agency will consider the removal of foreign prisoners serving 12-month sentences or more but each case is considered on its merits,” a Home Office spokesman was quoted as saying by the daily.
Butt and Asif have been transferred from Wandsworth Prison to Canterbury, a category C prison, that has provisions for immigration officials to easily process and deport inmates at the end of their sentences.
Deportation from Britain means the cricketers won’t be allowed to enter the country for the next 10 years.
The daily said that legal teams for the players will fight deportation, which will be avoided if the three agree to leave Britain on their release.