When Salman Butt Was Banned for Infamous Lord's Spot-Fixing Scandal

image-lpmkrk6jMohammad Amir and Salman Butt in police custody | Source: X.com

Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt, who was banned from the sport for 10 years due to his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal that broke out during Pakistan's tour of England in 2010, has been included in Pakistan's national selection panel. 

While we are at it, let's stroll down memory lane to revisit the events of 2010, a day etched in cricket's history as one of its darkest. 


The tale of Salman Butt's cricketing downfall

Even after 13 years, the echoes of the ill-fated Lord's Test during Pakistan's 2010 England tour linger, and are etched in the history of Pakistan Cricket for all the wrong reasons. 

With the series at 2-1, Pakistan were on the verge of levelling in the four-match series when the cricketing world was jolted by the earth-shattering news of the spot-fixing scandal.

Captain Butt, star pacer Mohammad Asif and the then young prodigy Mohammad Amir were banned from all forms of the game for orchestrating intentional no-balls in the Lord's Test, as part of a monetary deal with an undercover agent. 

In September 2010, the International Cricket Council (ICC) took action, and announced a 10-year ban on Salman Butt (with five years as suspended sentence); seven years for Mohammad Asif (with two years suspended) and a five-year ban for Mohammad Amir from featuring in any form of cricket.

After serving his ban, Mohammad Amir staged a comeback to international cricket in 2016, and has been actively playing cricket, participating in various franchise tournaments. On the other hand, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have not returned to the game and have bid farewell. 

According to the PCB announcement, Kamran Akmal, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, and Salman Butt will begin their tenure as consultants to the chief selector with the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, slated to kick off on January 12, 2024, following the conclusion of the Test tour to Australia.