Former Pakistan internationals Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have returned to cricket after five-year bans for spot-fixing in a 2010 Test against England.
The duo are playing for Water and Power Development Authority in Pakistan's domestic one-day tournament.
Butt, 31, and Asif, 33, were exiled from the sport, along with bowler Mohammad Amir, after Pakistan bowled no-balls to order at Lord's.
"It's a sort of rebirth for me," said Butt.
Butt's figures
Tests Runs Average Wickets Average
33 1,889 30.5 1 106
"I will do my best to perform and return to Pakistan team."
Amir, 18 at the time of the offence, was recalled by Pakistan earlier in January.
Although his ban - like Butt and Asif's - was originally from all forms of cricket for five years, Amir was cleared to play domestic cricket in January 2015 and is part of the Pakistan tour of New Zealand which begins with a Twenty20 match on Friday.
Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis has said there would be no reason to deny Butt and Asif their international comebacks if their form justifies selection.
After their series against New Zealand, Pakistan will play four Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international on a tour of England that begins in June.
Asif's figures
Tests Runs Average Wickets Average
23 141 5.6 106 24.4
Batsman Umar Akmal will miss the first meeting with the Kiwis after he breached tournament rules by wearing two, rather than one, sponsorship logo in the final of Pakistan's domestic Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
No comments:
Post a Comment