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The 'three no-ball' trap that led Mohammad Amir, Butt and Asif to jail on this day in 2011

Soumyajit Dutta

The Pakistan players during the 2010 Test [Source: @theguardian.com]The Pakistan players during the 2010 Test [Source: @theguardian.com]

On November 3, 2011, which is not a very proud day for Pakistan cricket, the then cricketing stars, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were sentenced to jail after they were found guilty by the court of law in a spot fixing scandal.

Pakistan cricket and spot fixing are almost synonymous, with the nation having seen players who were suspended from cricket, too, because of their non-sporting actions. Nevertheless, this day remains a dark day for Pakistan cricket as it brought upon a cloud of shame as their cricketers were sentenced to prison. 

Along with the three prominent cricketers, Mazhar Majeed, the players’ agent, was also sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for his involvement in the corruption scandal. 

Why were Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir jailed?

The players received jail terms for conspiring to accept corrupt payments and for attempting to cheat during the Lord’s Test against England in August 2010.

The controversy stemmed from three pre-arranged no-balls, two bowled by Mohammad Amir and one by Mohammad Asif, all guided by then-captain Salman Butt and arranged through Majeed. Although Amir and Majeed pleaded guilty before the trial, Butt and Asif denied the charges but were later found guilty by the jury. 

Salman Butt was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, Mohammad Asif received one year, and Mohammad Amir was sentenced to six months. All three were also serving ICC bans while being tried by the London court.

The fallout was severe, as the players were banned for four years and allowed to return to cricket only after their suspensions were lifted in September 2015.

What did the players do after the ban was lifted?

Notably, Mohammad Asif did not return to international cricket following the ban, featuring only in the Afghanistan Cricket League’s Shpageeza League, where he played five matches in July. Salman Butt, too, never made an international comeback, appearing in domestic competitions like the National T20 Cup in August 2016 and playing his last professional game in the 2020 PSL for Lahore Qalandars.

Mohammad Amir, however, returned to international cricket during the T20I series against New Zealand in January 2016 and continued representing Pakistan until 2020. His last international appearance came against Ireland in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Amir remains active in franchise cricket, most recently turning out for the Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL 2025 season.