SALMAN Butt, the former Pakistan captain, after being released from English jail reached Pakistan only to prove his innocence. He is holding a series of press conferences in addition to appearing on TV talk shows, justifying his actions and telling the nation that he had nothing to do with ‘no balls’.
He should know that actions speak louder than words and the public cannot be deceived.
He was not alone in the spot-fixing case and the investigations process was reasonably long wherein all three of them failed to prove their innocence. They were finally convicted and jailed.
The question is: why were only those three involved and not the other players? Salman says that Mazhar Majeed was his agent and that all players have agents for commercial purposes. Knowing the reputation of various agents, as a captain he should have been extra careful in selecting his agent and making deals with him.
The famous saying ‘an acid test of a person’s integrity is his conduct during money dealings’ holds true here. Where there is smoke, there is always a fire underneath. The video clips show Mazhar Majeed with a bag or jacket full of money worn by Wahab Riaz, etc. We don’t see such a drama with any other team.
Sometimes our players are seen at night clubs, dancing and drinking, or sometimes they are caught with narcotics. It shows poor control of the team by the managers and other officials who accompany the team.
Strict disciplinary action should also be taken against all the officials who accompanied Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. These officials should be permanently barred from going abroad with the teams and should be dismissed from the service.
In the days of late Air Martial Nur Khan no such thing ever happened. We need such a professional chairman, managers and other office-holders, not political appointees or non-professionals, if we want to make a name in the sport.
MUHAMMAD AZHAR KHWAJA Lahore
Blame game SALMAN Butt, after arriving in Pakistan, held a press conference in which he said that he was innocent and Mohammad Amir was to be blamed for the wrongdoing in which he got implicated.
He further said that he would expose more facts related to this case soon.
All this was shocking for most Pakistanis. It is beyond comprehension how can someone who has already been declared guilty by an independent court, sentenced to imprisonment, having completed his jail term, can now declare himself as ‘innocent’? And what are the facts that he is now claiming to expose which he could not do so during the court’s proceedings?
Everyone knows that these cricketers have defamed their country, the game of cricket, and, of course, themselves. They hired top British lawyers for their trial, but failed to defend themselves. Now they cannot deceive us by such tactics.
UMAIR AHMAD Rawalpindi