Afridi gave statement against me for losing his captaincy: Butt

Banned former Test captain Salman Butt has accused former teammate Shahid Afridi of giving a statement against him in the spot-fixing case to get over the shock of losing his captaincy. Butt told the media in his hometown here during the Eid holidays that Afridi had given a statement against him in the spot-fixing case which led to the ban and jail terms for Butt and two other Pakistani players, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, reported a website.All three have served their jail terms in the United Kingdom but are still under a minimum five year ban from the International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal for their role in the spot fixing scandal that broke out during Pakistan’s tour to England in 2010.On that tour, Afridi led Pakistan in the first Test at Lord’s against Australia which they lost heavily. After that, Afridi stepped down as Test captain and Butt took over from him leading the team to Test wins over Australia and England on the tour. Afridi also lost his one-day and T20 captaincy in May, 2011 after a dispute with the Pakistan Cricket Board. “I think he was upset and in a shock over the captaincy issue and that is why he gave the statement against me,” Butt said. “I have never indulged in any match or spot fixing and I never gave any instructions to Aamer to bowl the no-ball during the Lord’s Test against England,” Butt claimed.
Butt and the two others were charged with spot fixing during the fourth Test against England in 2010. Besides Afridi, former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis and ex-security manager Najam also gave damning statements to the ICC anti-corruption unit during the spot-fixing investigations. Butt said that he would continue to plead his innocence of spot-fixing but was financially finding it difficult to bear legal expenses. “I also wanted to appeal my case with the international court of arbitration for sports in Switzerland but the Pakistan cricket Board didn’t support me at all,” the disgraced opener said.
Butt said he had not given up hope of making a comeback to the national team once he was cleared by the ICC. “I know it will require a lot of hard work but I am not giving up because I have been jailed and banned for something I didn’t do,” he said.
Except for Asif, Butt and Aamer have both returned to Pakistan after serving their jail sentences but have avoided the media while staying in Lahore. Butt said his family had found it hard to reconcile with the situation but were slowly coming to terms after he returned home. “For me the biggest joy has been to be with my family, my children and wife once again,” Butt said.
Afridi withdraws from Lankan Premier League: Shahid Afridi, the icon player of Ruhuna Royals, withdrew himself from the ongoing Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) ahead of his team’s encounter against Uva Next on Tuesday. It is understood that Afridi’s wife is unwell and he had leave for Pakistan immediately. A top management executive of the SLPL organising committee told Wisden India, “He has told us that if the issues get resolved then he will be back for the remaining matches.” In three matches for Ruhuna so far, Afridi has scored 52 runs and picked up two wickets. His best batting performance came in Ruhuna’s last match, when he smashed a quickfire 36 against Kandurata Warriors at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on August 20.
Ruhuna play their next league game against Basnahira Cricket Dundee at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on August 25. As per an earlier agreement, all Pakistan cricketers in the SLPL who are part of Pakistan’s One-Day International team will leave Sri Lanka midway through the tournament to go to Sharjah before Pakistan’s ODI series against Australia, which starts on August 28.