Salman Butt Could Face Up to Seven Years Ban If Found Guilty by the ICC of Spot Fixing

In what is turning out to be a rather somber affair, there is more bad news for Salman Butt as he faces trial along with two Pakistan fast bowlers over match fixing allegations.

mohammad aamer salman butt

Butt has had a tough time, shuffling between lawyers and failed appeals to the ICC. Butt is said to face the ICC tribunal hearing alongwith Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif and has had little time to prepare his defense all the while maintaining his innocence.

Following the News of the World sting on Mazhar Majeed, the Pakistan payer agent, the ICC acted to suspend the trio and it now appears the hearing could see an ending that may not go down well for the former Pakistan captain who may face more severe charges for being the captain with the allegations that the bowlers acted on his instructions. With Butt being the man in charge, the ICC is looking to make the escape routes harder particularly for him, which if it does set the precedent should send shudders down the spines of captains everywhere because irrespective of whether Butt is guilty or not, the captain is expected to be aware of what is happening and in light of what has happened, the noose is apparently tighter around Butt who could not find himself without a career on the cricket field for the better part of seven years or thereabout.

The sting appeared to implicate Butt who was seen talking to Mohammad Aamer at critical times in the matches, the same intervals that Majeed had spelt out in the course of the sting operation conducted during the Lord's Test of the Pakistan England series.

Even as Butt maintains that he is clean and above board, unless the defense lawyers for the three cricketers can respectively prove their client's innocence, it may be curtains for one, two or all three cricketers.