Cricket news: PCB wants provisional suspension lifted
The PCB, in an attempt to fight the spot-fixing scandal that has rocked the world of cricket, is seeking to come down hard at the ICC for suspending its players, despite the investigations of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Scotland-c756 Yard still underway. The three players under the microscope of the ACSU and the Scotland Yard have filed their replies to the game’s governing body ICC on Tuesday, in an attempt to clear them in the controversy. Spot-fixing allegations at the Pakistan cricket team has proved to be a serious blow on the national side, who have been under a lot of criticism from their home country following a spate of poor performances, which were then overshadowed by the spot-fixing imbroglio.
"Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have filed their replies to the notice of charge that the ICC had placed upon them," Taffazul Rizvi, the PCB's legal advisor stated. The trio is now back in Pakistan and their case was filed through the London-based lawyer Elizabeth Robertson.
These three players under scrutiny were served notices on September 2, after the ICC felt that they had “a case to answer” and a couple of weeks to respond. The ICC however, were not there to offer any comment upon receiving the replies from the Pakistani players.
"The ICC will not rush into any sort of decision," a source close to the investigation said. "It might take a lot of time and nobody really knows how much before anything is decided."
It is understood that the players have pleaded not guilty and have demanded to get their ban lifted. It is likely that the players would be seeking extra evidence more than just circumstantial evidence that has been produced by the News of the World. The request for more time by the PCB and the players is a consequence of the players’ concern that the Scotland Yard investigations are still underway, and if the ICC pursues the investigation as well, it might result in the players being punished twice.
Keeping in view the fact that the players have now filed their replies, the ICC might now go ahead to form its tribunal for the hearing of the case. Otherwise, the scenario would disfavour the trio, and the ICC would have to wait until the actual charge sheet is brought to the attention of the disciplinary committee and punishments are handed out. The three member tribunal is normally chosen from the existing members of the Code of Conduct Commission, and generally includes the chairman, who at present is Michael Beloff QC.
The three players were grilled by the London police on several occasions during their stay in England before they finally departed for Pakistan, firstly in the immediate after-math of the story being published in the News of the World, and then again a week later at a Kilburn police station. No charges were brought against the players at any stage during their stay in England, with speculation that the Scotland Yard was not able to gather enough evidence to indict the players.
The trio returned to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 on Friday, however, not before they signed an agreement with Scotland Yard that these players would comply and return to England for any further questioning.
It is imperative to note that PCB has ferociously defended the players. However, in the midst of this entire crisis, the PCB chairman was missing and instead the Pakistan high commissioner to England Wajid Shams ul http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990 faced the media, hinting that this might be a set-up, and the Pakistan players were supposedly entrapped.
This controversy has deeply scarred cricket with deep-rooted implications. Nonetheless, this incident comes at a very important time, right when international cricket was set to make its way to Pakistan cricket arena. Also, these allegations are a blot on the reputation of the ICC who was adamant since the Hansie Cronje incident that they had come down hard on the illegal bookmakers involved in the practice of match-fixing. However, the network of such groups is still intact and extremely powerful in the subcontinent stretching its criminal tentacles all across the globe.
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