MUMBAI: While disgraced former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt on Friday accepted his involvement in the infamous spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010, offering an apology to the nation for his actions, his colleague tainted pacer Mohammad Asif said he will decide about his course of action after meeting interim Pakistan Cricket Board chief Najam Sethi.
Speaking exclusively over telephone from Lahore, Asif said: “I shall decide about it (apology) once I get an opportunity to meet the new chairman.”
“Yes, Salman Butt has apologised so that he can return to the game after serving the compulsory 5-year ban period. The ICC has imposed the remaining five years of 10-year ban as suspension.”
Asif has been barred for seven years, with two suspensions. However, his lawyer said he would not advise the lanky pacer to apologise.
Speaking exclusively from Guyana, Asif’s UK-based lawyer Ravi Sukul said: “The fact that Asif has not succeeded in his appeals is not conclusive proof that he was involved in a spot-fixing conspiracy. The evidence against both Aamir and Butt is overwhelming so it is no surprise to me that the former pleaded guilty and the latter has apparently accepted some degree of guilt.”
“It remains an enigma that the courts have seemingly not recognised that the case against Asif is evidentially different from that of his two former team-mates. I would not advise him to accept guilt,” said Ravi.
