Thaindian News

London, Nov 2 (IANS) Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja said the three cricketers found guilty of spot-fixing should never play for their country again.

Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.

They plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord’s Test match against England in August 2010.

“I think they should be booted out for good,” Raja said BBC Radio 5 live.

Butt, 27, Asif, 28, and Amir, now 19, were charged after a tabloid newspaper alleged they were involved in a plan to bowl deliberate no-balls.

In February, all three players were banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the affair - Butt for 10 years, with five of them suspended, Asif for seven years, with two suspended, and Amir for five years.

With three other players - Kamran Akmal, his brother Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz - named in court as allegedly being involved in a betting scam, former England captain Michael Vaughan has suggested that a complete overhaul of Pakistan’s playing squad is required.

“I guess the only way to clear it would be to completely start afresh with a new set of players because there are still question marks over a few of the other players in their team,” Vaughan was quoted as saying in BBC Sport.

“They will always unearth talent, they have this raw natural talent for the game. I just hope we can watch them in the future and know they are clean.”