Pakistani trio Mohammad Aamir, Mohammad Asif and former captain Salman Butt will have to wait until 5th February to know the fate of their careers. All the players are facing the same charges of spot fixing in the 4th test match against England last year. A six day hearing held in Doha and Qatar was unable to bring a conclusion because the judges think that giving a decision about the case of such a big magnitude is not an easy task. It is because the decision will ultimately affect the careers of all the three players.
It has been suggested that the hearing has gone negatively for former captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif whereas it has gone well for young fast bowler Mohammad Aamir. It has been reported that Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif presented different statements during their hearings. When asked about the reason of bowling illegal deliveries. Asif replied that captain Salman Butt had asked him to bowl quickly due to which he over stepped. Whereas on the other hand Salman Butt totally gave a different statement.
Cricketing fans have been calling for mercy for Aamir as he is only 18 years of age. Apart from this reason, they also say that Aamir is relatively new to the cricketing world and this might be the case due to which he bowled m(–foul word(s) removed–)ive illegal deliveries. On the other hand, cricketing experts and fans both have been very critical of Mohammad Asif because he has been already punished due to many illegal activities. He was caught with drugs in Dubai and has already faced a two year ban for failing a dope test.
ICC tribunal has a big responsibility in their hands as the decision of this case can be very important for Pakistan cricket. Moreover, if they ban all the players then it will send out a good message to young cricketers that any type of match fixing has a zero policy in international cricket.