True to our self-righteous ethos, the popular noise against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir’s return to international cricket is reverberating with a higher pitch and a greater frequency. After the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the trio’s respective bans would end on September 1, and that following a six-month rehabilitation programme they would be eligible for international cricket from March 2016 onwards, fans and former cricketers have asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take the ‘right decision’ and never allow them to play for the country again.
“They did something which badly hurt Pakistan cricket and its integrity and image and it has taken many years to once again restore our image internationally,” former captain and commentator Rameez Raja told cricketcountry.com, echoing the popular opinion that the trio “doesn’t deserve a second chance.”
Herschelle Gibbs
There is little that one can present as counterargument to Butt, Asif and Amir hurting Pakistan cricket. But let’s not forget that the ensuing damage – which has taken years of stability under the stout leadership of Misbahul Haq to undo – was caused by the fact that the spot-fixing scandal wasn’t a one-off. From match-fixing – not the same as spot-fixing – to failed drug tests, to all kinds of disciplinary actions, Pakistani cricketers have long been the bad boys of international cricket. The spot-fixing scandal happened to be the most high profile case, where the trio was blatantly caught with their hands in the cookie jar, and didn’t have Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum’s “soft corner” to bail them out.
Justice Qayyum famously banned Salim Malik and Atta-ur-Rehman but only fined Wasim Akram in the famous verdict in 2000, which also recommended that Akram never be made Pakistan captain again.
“For Wasim I had some soft corner for him. He was a very great player, a very great bowler and I was his fan, and therefore that thing did weigh with me,” he told Cricinfo in 2006.
Marlon Samuels
Clearly Pakistani cricketers’ flirtations with match-fixing weren’t limited to Salim Malik or Atta-ur-Rehman (the only two Pakistanis formally implicated in fixing before the spot-fixing scandal – Danish Kaneria has been given a life ban since) many of our illustrious stars from the 90s, were allegedly involved in fixing at various levels. They were regularly bailed out by powers that be and their wholehearted support.
It’s not as if Pakistanis have exclusive rights over match-fixing either. From Hansie Cronje to Mohammed Azharuddin, big names from around the world have bitten the proverbial dust over match-fixing allegations. Not to mention the multitude of skeletons in a plethora of closets worldwide that have been buried over the past couple of decades.
And so, is Butt, Asif and Amir’s crime solely the fact that they were caught deliberately bowling no-balls – not intentionally losing matches or performing badly – while they weren’t high-profile enough to be saved by Pakistani lobbies and belonged to quite possibly the least talented era of Pakistan cricket?
Unlike many of our former greats, the trio has served sentences over fixing charges
What they did has definitely dented their cricketing integrity, but unlike many of our greats they served bans – and prison sentences – for their crime. If match-fixers from the 90s were given multiple chances, without even paying the price for their actions, by fan-boys in the judiciary and the PCB, why can’t these three be given another change after being deservedly punished?
Herscelle Gibbs and Marlon Samuels are the two most prominent examples of cricketers returning from bans to serve their country well. Gibbs was banned for six months after taking money to deliberately perform poorly in a match against India, while Samuels served a two-year ban after passing on dressing room information to bookies. The South African witnessed his best years after serving his ban in 2000, while Samuels returned to guide West Indies to the World T20 crown in 2012, with a Man of the Match performance in the final.
Mohammad Amir returning to domestic cricket
In essence the question of returning to international cricket is limited to Amir. Butt doesn’t warrant a place in the side for cricketing reasons, and Asif despite having unparalleled ability carries a lot of baggage not limited to the spot-fixing scandal. Both Asif and Butt have paid more price than most for their actions and should be left to seep into oblivion without any treasonous tags – because if we really are that self-righteous, we might as well dig out the aforementioned buried skeletons, many of whom still hold official cricketing positions.
Most of all, however, it’s Amir whose best cricketing years – still potentially ahead of him – will be hampered by constant elusions to the crime for which he has been duly punished. Pakistan needs Amir and let’s give him a fair chance to prove his detractors wrong.
