The remorse and repentance of Pakistan's Amir, Asif & Butt

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  • Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif complete five year bans.

    The humiliation wrought upon Pakistan cricket in the summer of 2010 is etched in the memories of all Pakistan cricket followers. It was during this period that the names of the highly-talented Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt were transformed from heroes to objects of hate in a matter of hours. The names of the trio and the reputation of Pakistan cricket lay in tatters with some in the cricketing community calling for a complete ban on Pakistan from international cricket.

    With the country of millions of cricket mad fans already reeling from the effects of the sad events of 2009 in Lahore which put an end to international cricket on Pakistani soil, the news of corruption at the highest level of national cricket seemed to ring the death knell for Pakistan cricket. Who knows what state Pakistan cricket would have been today had it not been for the almost ready supply of fresh (and not so new) faces who bravely took on the challenge of representing and restoring pride in their country in the absence of three key players?

    Five years on from those traumatic times, Pakistan cricket news is awash with the names of the three players – yet again. The ICC statement announcing the expiry of their bans and subsequent freedom to participate in domestic and international games from 2nd September seems to have ignited an intense debate over whether the tainted trio should be allowed back or not.

    Most opinion polls seem to indicate that Mohammad Amir who has led the way in the remorse and repentance stakes will be welcomed to the fold but not so for Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt. The constant denials of their guilt and the manner in which they have tried to gain the confidence of their fans has been far from convincing. Indeed it was only in July 2015, that the former Pakistan Test Captain Salman Butt signed a document in which he expressed his “unconditional” apology and admitted his guilt and asked for forgiveness.

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    To many this was a cynical ploy to gain acceptance in the face of public opinion given the fast approaching end to the five year ban period. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for its part also seemed to have taken pronouncements of guilt and remorse with a pinch of salt. In a swift reply to ICC’s statement on the expiry of the bans for the three players, the PCB have sought to ask for clarification from the governing body over how and when the bans will actually be lifted, given PCB’s understanding that the respective rehabilitation process for Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt are incomplete.

    Whilst the trio make reconciliatory and spirited noises about their love for the game and country in the press and to anyone who will care to listen to them, the fact remains that their return to the fold is a three-step process. The first step will be to convince the PCB of their remorse and more importantly their repentance such that they can be trusted once again. The second step will be their ability to convince domestic teams to allow them a place among their line-ups. Provided they can make a place in those teams and demonstrate a level of skill which made them the stars in their previous stints, the next step will be to win the hearts and minds of not only the loyal fans of Pakistan cricket but also of the selectors, team management and their colleagues, some of whom are far from happy about their actions.

    The possible return of the trio in national colours will surely mean that some players who have put in the extra yards to make a place for them in the team will need to be side-lined. Will this be a fair reward for honesty? Many former players such as former captains Javed Miandad and Rashid Latif are dead set against the return of all three players but then the likes of Imran Khan and Michael Holding have expressed their sympathies for at least one player. Can the opinions of these personalities be discarded? Or can the fact that all three have suffered the consequences of their misdemeanours be taken into account when making this decision? Or should the fact that each of these players are match-winners in their own rights be the overriding factor in the final analysis? Should the interest of Pakistan winning matches take precedence over any notions of the spirit of the game that the three cricketers violated?

    The trio will return to the cricketing fold in the coming weeks after their five year bans, but for many around the world the scars of their actions will take much more than five years to heal and their return to cricket signals a chapter that they hoped they would never see.

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