Butt thankful to CAS for hearing appeal against ICC ban

Islamabad: Banned Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt has expressed gratitude to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for hearing his appeal against his ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his involvement in the spot fixing scandal that shook the world of cricket. Butt expressed hope that he could return to playing cricket, which he claims runs through in his veins and blood.

Awaiting the decision of the CAS, Butt said in a statement that he has not been able to play any significant game of cricket, coach or even be involved in the administrative side since his ban in September 2010. Butt’s lawyers are confident that the panel will consider their legal submissions and the facts of the case carefully while reaching their verdict. They added that allowing Butt to play cricket again can be the only positive outcome of this case for them. Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who is not contesting his ban, were exposed by now defunct News of the World sting in 2010 over bowling deliberate no balls in the Lord’s Test against England. The trio was also jailed after a criminal trial in the UK. ANI