In what has come as a shock to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), budding fast bowler Mohammad Amir has said he was lured and dragged into spot-fixing by suspended Test skipper Salman Butt.
The young left-arm pacer is at present under suspension by the ICC for his alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the fourth Test against England at Lord's last month. So are Butt and Mohammad Asif.
Sources in the PCB said that Amir had told chairman Ijaz Butt that he never wanted to be part of this "business" (spot-fixing) but was forced into it by Butt and Asif. "Aamir had gone to Butt and claimed he was innocent and a victim of the 'seniors' power lobby' in the team," a source said.
Another source revealed that Amir, regarded as one of Pakistan cricket's most promising young talent, had told manager Yawar Saeed about the pressure being exerted on him by Butt.
"Amir's claim is that he did what he was told to do. He is claiming innocence now and says he didn't even know Mazhar Majeed before Majeed was introduced to him by Butt and Asif," the source said.
Quite a few former Test captains, and even Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, have urged the ICC to show leniency towards Amir, all of 18. But chief selector, Mohsin Khan said he didn't agree with the viewpoint that Amir should be shown leniency because of his age.
"I don't buy this argument because if you can do something wrong at 18, you can keep on doing it later as well. If these three players are found guilty, they should be punished, including Amir," Mohsin had said.
The chief selector insisted that no cricketer was indispensable and there should be no compromise on discipline and commitment towards your team and country.
"Amir must be punished if he is guilty. I just hope that these three are eventually cleared because they have already damaged the reputaion of Pakistan cricket and the country," Mohsin said.
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The young left-arm pacer is at present under suspension by the ICC for his alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the fourth Test against England at Lord's last month. So are Butt and Mohammad Asif.
Sources in the PCB said that Amir had told chairman Ijaz Butt that he never wanted to be part of this "business" (spot-fixing) but was forced into it by Butt and Asif. "Aamir had gone to Butt and claimed he was innocent and a victim of the 'seniors' power lobby' in the team," a source said.
Another source revealed that Amir, regarded as one of Pakistan cricket's most promising young talent, had told manager Yawar Saeed about the pressure being exerted on him by Butt.
"Amir's claim is that he did what he was told to do. He is claiming innocence now and says he didn't even know Mazhar Majeed before Majeed was introduced to him by Butt and Asif," the source said.
Quite a few former Test captains, and even Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, have urged the ICC to show leniency towards Amir, all of 18. But chief selector, Mohsin Khan said he didn't agree with the viewpoint that Amir should be shown leniency because of his age.
"I don't buy this argument because if you can do something wrong at 18, you can keep on doing it later as well. If these three players are found guilty, they should be punished, including Amir," Mohsin had said.
The chief selector insisted that no cricketer was indispensable and there should be no compromise on discipline and commitment towards your team and country.
"Amir must be punished if he is guilty. I just hope that these three are eventually cleared because they have already damaged the reputaion of Pakistan cricket and the country," Mohsin said.
http://cricket.yahoo.com
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