Disgraced former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt may possibly face a punishment after participating in the unsanctioned Ajman All Stars T20 League that is the subject of an International Cricket Council (ICC) investigation into possible match-fixing.
A video of the said competition went viral on social media on Tuesday after the ICC’s anti-corruption chief, Alex Marshall’s announcement that an investigation was underway. In the footage, a series of calamitous dismissals during one of its matches in the United Arab Emirates last week can be seen.
It has now emerged that Butt, who was banned from cricket for five years and served time in prison following the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal of 2010, played two matches in the All-Stars tournament despite it being unrecognised by the local Emirates Cricket Board.
“I went there as I was not picked for [my domestic team] Lahore and I was doing nothing,” said Butt while speaking to the media. “But when I reached there I realised it was just an amateur-level event which had no match referee, ICC anti-corruption representative or even scorers.”
“Since the spot-fixing scandal, I try to stay away as far as possible from any related controversies. I am happy the ICC is investigating the event because there were a lot of flaws in it. But I played just two games and then went away to Dubai,” he added.
Butt, who does not appear in the video has not yet been implicated in any crime, however, the cricketer’s presence at an unsanctioned tournament could ensue serious repercussions for his ongoing first-class career in Pakistan.
