Pakistan's suspended Test captain and opener Salman Butt says he is confident of having his name cleared in the spot-fixing scandal that shook international cricket.
Pakistan's suspended Test captain and opener Salman Butt says he is confident of having his name cleared in the spot-fixing scandal that shook international cricket.
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Butt told mediapersons at the National Cricket Academy yesterday that he was looking forward to the appeal hearing being held by the ICC at Doha on October 30 and 31.
Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif were suspended by the ICC in the first week of September while in England.
Their suspensions came after the 'News of the World' tabloid broke a story claiming that the agent for the three players, Mazhar Majeed, had on video confessed that he had paid bribes to the trio to do spot-fixing in the fourth Test against England at Lord's.
The trio have appealed against their suspensions and the ICC has now scheduled their hearings in Doha under the supervision of Michael Beloff QC.
While the ICC is carrying out its appeal process, the three players continued to be under investigation by the Scotland Yard for alleged spot fixing and conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.
The 26-year-old Butt, who has played 33 Tests and 78 ODIs, claimed the allegations had disturbed him and his family.
"But I am ready to fight on and I am confident of positive result at the hearing," he added.
"Everything was going well when this happened and it was very disturbing and disappointing. But it has also been big lesson for me," he said.
"It has taught me a lot about how to deal with the people around you and how to be aware of the people around you. It has made me realize to differentiate between friends and foes."
The opener, who led Pakistan in the Tests in England including two victories over Australia and England before the spot fixing allegations broke out, said he had not given up and was continuing his daily training and practice sessions at the national academy.
"I keep on doing my training and practice for two hours daily. Because I want to remain in touch."
Butt didn't rule out the possibility of getting a chance to play against South Africa in the UAE next month.
"I am working hard and doing my bit. The conditions in Lahore and the UAE are the same so I am preparing hard on playing spin," he said.
Meanwhile, the lawyers for Butt and Aamir confirmed on that they had received the charge sheets and all related material and documents from the ICC for the appeal hearing.
"We have got details of the charges against the players but it is strictly confidential and we are not allowed to discuss it publicly," Butt's lawyer, Aftab Gul said.
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