Pak, 3 down, plays defensive

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Three Pakistan cricketers allegedly involved in spot-fixing on Thursday withdrew themselves from the Pakistan team till their “names are cleared”.
Pakistan skipper Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, accompanied by tour security manager Khawaja Najam, arrived at the Pakistan high commission at 10.30 am to meet high commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt was not present during the meeting.
The Pakistan high commissioner, addressing the media more than an hour after the arrival of the cricketers, said the three players were withdrawing from the team because of “mental torture” caused by spot-fixing allegations. Mr Hasan said the players were “entirely innocent”.
“The three players have said that they are extremely disturbed with what has happened in the past one week, specially with regard to their alleged involvement in the scam. They mention that they are entirely innocent in the whole episode and shall defend their innocence as such,” Mr Hasan said.
Making it clear that the players had withdrawn from the team on their own accord, and had not been dropped by the PCB, Mr Hasan said: “They further maintain that on account of the mental torture which has deeply affected them all, they are not in the right frame of mind to play the remaining matches. Therefore, they have requested the PCB not to consider them for the remaining matches till their names are cleared.”
The high commissioner, who said the PCB chief was busy with another assignment, said he personally believed in the innocence of the three cricketers. “Yes, I believe in their innocence,” he said and refused to answer any questions on the alleged Indian link in the spot-fixing scandal. “I am not in the habit of insinuating or involving people,” he said.
Mr Hasan said no action would be taken against Salman Butt, Amir and Asif till the Scotland Yard inquiry and report on the issue. The three players will not be interviewed by Scotland Yard on Thursday, he added.
The three cricketers, who missed the friendly between Pakistan and Somerset at Taunton on Thursday, will stay in England and will not be returning to Pakistan, the high commissioner said.
“They are here, they are not running away, they are innocent and they want to clear their names before playing for Pakistan again. They have to be proven guilty, this is the law. These are serious charges that have been levelled against them. But these are upright young men and we will go to a court of law to defend them,” Mr Hasan said.
Denying that the three players were withdrawn due to pressure from the England and Wales Cricket Board, Mr Hasan said, “They have voluntarily stepped down and not under ECB pressure. They want to clear their names first and then play for Pakistan.”
He also said there was no pressure from the International Cricket Council or the ECB to drop the three players or the series would be cut short. “There is no question of any pressure from ICC or ECB. No such thing was there,” Mr Hasan said.
PCB chief Ejaz Butt and ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat were conspicuously silent on Thursday. The ICC is likely to issue a statement on the issue late Thursday.
In Taunton, Pakistan cricket manager Yawar Saeed announced on Thursday morning, just minutes before the three players reached the Pakistan high commission in London, that the trio would not be playing for the rest of the England series. “For the T20s, the squad will remain as it is this morning. Once we have played those two games, for the one-day internationals subsequently we will be asking for replacements to make up the squad of 16 again,” Mr Saeed said. “They have not been suspended. They are still here, I cannot say anything on their behalf because investigations are still being made by Scotland Yard, the ICC and others,” he added.
Scotland Yard will question the three players in the presence of their lawyer in the next 48 hours. The questioning is likely to start on Friday but with more revelations likely on Sunday from the tabloid which initially broke the story, the investigation is likely to continue into next week.