Pakistan’s disgraced former captain Salman Butt on Friday returned to a tumultuous reception after serving seven months of a 30-month prison sentence for spot-fixing in the United Kingdom and pleaded his innocence.
Held guilty for his involvement in spot-fixing during Pakistan’s tour to England in 2010, Butt insisted that his only mistake was failure to report advances from a bookie.
“I have never entertained any offer, nothing ever practically happened in a match that was linked to any offer of spot-fixing or any fixing, I never asked anyone to do anything or bowl any no-balls, I am not associated with it,” Butt told reporters in Lahore.
The former Test opener admitted his only blunder was not to report the advances made to him by the bookmaker Mazhar Majeed, who is still in jail.
“That was my mistake and I should have told the authorities immediately but I have paid a heavy price for this,” he said.
“I have served a sentence for that and I have also apologised to the ICC for this,” he added.
Butt, whose family was at the airport to greet him in tears, said he didn’t report the advances for two to three months since he knew the person.
“I had hoped that my former sporting agent Mazhar Majeed would realise the wrongdoing and correct his ways. To the people of Pakistan, all the cricketers, those who support us and make us stars, I apologise — but for failure to report,” Butt asserted.
He also made it clear he had not lost hope of playing for Pakistan again and wanted to come back as a “good person, a good Pakistani, and as a good cricketer.”
Keywords: Salman Butt, spot-fixing scandal
Underdeveloped countries like India(I do not know whether I can still use this term)and Pakistan, cricket is a curse far from being a blessing.The stories intertwined with match fixing and bribery have challenged people to look at this one time 'gentleman's play' with suspicion.I am of the opinion that apart from a few people who rise to popularity and richness, this cricket has done nothing to these countries.We will still remember the controversies centered on the IPL and that some are convicted on the basis of corruption.'Black money is being whitened',this was the accusation that some of the Indian Lok Sabha members levelled against the IPL.But what finally won.It's the money.Nobody can touch the cricket even if the players do corruption.People like Salman Butt will go to jail in the future, will serve some time in the jail and will join later in the game.What would happen.Nothing.We will accept that corruption as part of the cricket.That's not too far.Hail cricket.
Pakistani cricketers make the news for the wrong reasons. One cannot
sentence a person without concrete evidence. Let him be man enough to
admit his mistake and move on instead of trying in vain to prove he is
innocent.
Do they have any other things to say? This is exactly expected that, appologize later and tell every one that you were framed wrongly. Return back to Cricket but would you able to touch again people's heart. Now may be they will look his every success as it's fixed.
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