ICC asks suspended Pak players to be cautious over statements

LAHORE - The International Cricket Council has directed Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Amir to be cautious in giving statements regarding their suspension over the ’spot-fixing’ scandal.

Amir’s lawyer Shahid Karim said that the ICC response is right, and insisted that the players would ensure that their final hearing is not affected negatively.

Karim said that Amir’s reaction was not an extra-ordinary act, but a natural response, the News reports.

Butt and Amir had earlier accused the ICC of having an anti-Pakistan agenda after their suspensions for alleged ’spot-fixing’ were upheld.

The ICC’s code of conduct commission, headed by Michael Beloff, upheld the suspensions after a two-day hearing in Dubai on Sunday.

The duo along with Mohammad Asif was suspended in September after a British tabloid alleged that they were involved in ’spot-fixing’ the Lord’s Test against England in August.

“They heard us, but it was as if ’say whatever you want to say, we have come with a decision’. Their decision was not based on a single piece of evidence against us. We requested from them the next date of the hearing, but they didn’t give us,” Butt had said.

Amir had insisted that the ICC had made up its mind even before the hearing in Dubai.

“To me it appeared as if this is a conspiracy to defame Pakistan cricket. I am hurt and sad because we want the truth to come out,” Amir said.

“I am disappointed because they didn’t even tell us the reason for rejecting our appeals. It appeared to be as if the decision of the hearing had been made beforehand,” he added.

Butt and Amir had hoped that the lifting of their suspensions would allow them to take part in the ongoing ODI and Test series against South Africa.

The innocence or guilt of the players will now be judged at an independent tribunal, the date of which has yet to be set. (ANI)