Test captain Salman Butt alongside fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are facing charges of being involved in spot-fixing, and their appeals against the ban to be removed have been rejected initially. They are the key players for Pakistan, and if they are not available for selection then it will be big blow for Pakistan team.
Mohammad Amir has been one of the brightest young prospects in international cricket alongside Stuart Broad. He would have easily won the young player of the year award, but due to his alleged involvement in spot-fixing his name was removed from the list. He is tipped as new Wasim Akram of Pakistan; his performance after his international debut suggests that he is similar to fast bowling legend.
Pakistan’s chief selector, Mohsin Hasan Khan admitted that it would be really hard to find replacements and he is concerned that if the trio didn’t get the green signal from ICC, then it would be nearly an end of their professional career. Pakistan is due to face South Africa in UAE, and it will be a very tough series especially if three of the match winners are out of the team. Mohsin further highlighted the fact that it is really tough to find replacement for three of your best players especially when you are up against one the best sides of the world.
Salman Butt was given the responsibility to lead the Test side of Pakistan after Shahid Afridi decided to retire from longest version of the game citing fitness and temperament problems. In his first Test as captain, Salman Butt guided Pakistan to their first-ever Test victory against Australians in more than fifteen years. Not only this, he has also been Pakistan’s most consistent batsman in last couple of years, and his absence will certainly leave a big whole in batting department especially in Test matches.
After the retirements of Saeed Anwar and Amir Sohail, Pakistan has not been able to find the right opening combination that can set a solid platform in order to ease the pressure off for other incoming batsmen. They have tried and tested many openers with likes of Yasir Hameed, Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat but they all didn’t perform on consistent basis. Only Salman Butt has been the brightest one among all. Chief selector can recall opener Khurram Manzoor to fill the void left by the suspension of Test captain.
Mohammad Asif cannot take part in the series whether he gets clear or not because he has been barred from an entry in UAE following the discovery of a banned substance in 2008. He has been the front line bowler for Pakistan in absence of Shoaib Akhtar and the Pakistan pace attack revolves around him. So that means, Pakistan will also lose another cutting edge over the Proteas.
The series against the South Africans starts from October 26 and Pakistan’s tainted-trio have time up till October 15 to respond to ICC, in order to get a timely decision from ICC. The series consist of two Tests, five One-day Internationals (ODI) and two T20s which will be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Pakistan will leave couple of days before the start of the series, and it remains highly unlikely that tainted-trio will be able to get back into the mix.
Salman Butt’s suspension can be a blessing in disguise for former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik as he will get another chance to revive his international career, but only if he is called back for national duty.
