PCB to question banned pacer Aamir

Pakistan cricket authorities plan to question banned pace bowler Mohammad Aamir following his return home on Sunday from Britain after serving a jail sentence for corruption. Aamir, 19, was released from prison this month after serving a three-month sentence for his role in a spot-fixing scandal during the 2010 test against England at Lord’s. He had been banned for five years by the International Cricket Council (ICC). “Obviously we will be meeting him to find out the root cause of the spot-fixing issue in Pakistan cricket,” Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad reported to have said.
“We will talk to him to find out how and why he got involved in this corruption. Initially he was not very honest with us so we need to ask him questions. We also want to discuss his rehabilitation with him.” Aamir and his team mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were banned by the ICC last year for arranging for deliberate no-balls to be delivered in the Lord’s test. Butt and Asif are still serving jail sentences. Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Imran Khan believes that convicted spot-fixer Aamir should be recalled to the Pakistan side as soon as his ban has been served. Aamir was recently released from a juvenile detention centre after he pleaded guilty to spot-fixing charges, but still has most of his five-year ban from cricket to serve. He has appealed to the ICC against the length of the sentence and indicated a desire to resume his cricket as soon as possible. Having shown remorse for his actions – something which Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif failed to do – Aamir deserves to be welcomed back by Pakistan, according to Khan. “I would have him back,” Khan said during an interview on the BBC’s TMS show. “He didn’t lie. He was straightforward. He said, ‘Look, I did this, it was a mistake, and I ask for forgiveness’. “And for a 19-year-old, yes, I would forgive him. “My heart has always gone out to Aamir because he was one of the best young talents I’ve seen. But at least he pleaded guilty straight away and said ‘I’ve made a mistake’.