Thaindian News

Lahore, Sep 11 (IANS) Three Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, who have been suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on charges of spot-fixing, returned here from London Saturday morning.

The cricketers, who were permitted to leave by the London Metropolitan Police, were greeted by angry protests outside the airport.

The trio avoided the hostile crowd and left from the second exit of the Allama Iqbal International Airport.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi hailed the return of the three cricketers and termed it a good omen. He said the PCB succeeded in convincing the Scotland Yard and this is its great success.

“The PCB never left the players alone and supported them at every stage. The Board’s efforts proved fruitful. The case made against the players is not strong and even during the investigation, no charge was made against Aamer, Asif and Salman Butt,” he said.

Rizvi said the Scotland Yard allowed the players to go back to their country as they did not doubt them.

“The Scotland Yard could call the accused players again if needed for investigation and until then they will remain in Pakistan,” he said.

The case however still rests with ICC’s anti-corruption unit which is investigating the case.

The players earlier denied the allegations and were released without charge after being quizzed at a London police station Sep 3.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police in London confirmed it was aware that the Pakistani trio were leaving Britain and said the players had promised “through their solicitor to return to assist the Metropolitan Police Service inquiry in due course”.

The spot-fixing controversy broke out when an undercover News of the World reporter paid cricket agent Mazhar Majeed 150,000 pounds in return for the details related to the fourth Test match.