LAHORE: Urging equal treatment under prescribed laws for all spot-fixers who serve their punishment, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has signalled Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif — like Mohammad Amir — can return to national duty.

Speaking as a guest of the Lahore Press Club here on Thursday, Inzamam while saying that the three players committed a major wrong by getting involved in spot-fixing during the 2010 tour of England, underscored all of them should be treated equally as they had completed punishment.

“They [Salman Butt, Moham­mad Asif and Mohammad Amir] were penalised [by the ICC]. However, only Amir made a comeback to the national team after completing the five-year ban,” Inzamam, who retired from international cricket after featuring in 120 Tests and 378 ODIs, added.

Says all players deserve equal treatment after serving punishments

“All the players involved in spot-fixing cases should be penalised under the laws of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Then after completing their punishment they can come back [to national team],” reckoned Inzamam who quit international cricket in 2007.

Commenting on the ongoing PSL spot-fixing case, Inzamam lamented opener Sharjeel Khan, who along with four other cricketers is presently suspended over his alleged involvement in the case, was a good batsman but lamented that the entire cricketing career of the left-hander was now in jeopardy.

Amid reported tussle between the PCB and the FIA over the ongoing probe into PSL spot-fixing scandal, the chief selector insisted that the PCB was an independent body which he said was in a position to take its own decisions.

Meanwhile, Inzamam said the successful staging of the high-profile PSL final in Lahore was a major step towards international cricket revival in Pakistan.

Expressing his views on Mohammad Hafeez’s selection in the national squad for the forthcoming West Indies tour, Inzamam said the seasoned top-order batsman was picked after he passed the physical fitness test.

Lahore Press Club president Shahbaz Mian on the occasion announced lifetime membership for Inzamam, the hero of the 1992 World Cup.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2017