Asif waits for justice from CAS

Lahore: Pakistan`s disgraced pace bowler Mohammad Asif today said he expects to get justice when his appeal against the ICC ban is heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Geneva in February 2013.

Asif said he was a victim of the bias of the PCB and the ICC, which he claims "influenced" the hearings in his court case in London. "My appeal will be heard in February and I am confident I will get a fair hearing and the justice which I didn`t get from the International Cricket Council (ICC)," Asif told the reporters here. Asif, who is serving a five-year ban from the ICC Anti-Corruption tribunal, made a quiet return on Eid day to attend the funeral of his mentor and coach Mohiuddin Chishti. Asif, who spoke to the media after much persuasion, said he had not got a fair deal from the ICC since the spot-fixing scandal first broke out in September, 2010. "They didn`t ban Mervyn Westfield until the court reached its verdict. In my case, the ICC banned me even before the court proceedings had begun and I see this as bias," he said. "Even when the trial was going on last year I felt the ICC was influencing the hearings and I am forced to say they are biased against me," he said. Asif, 29, who played 23 Tests and 38 One-dayers, was named with Salman Butt and Muhammad Aamir in the spot-fixing scandal in 2010 when Pakistan team was touring England. The ICC suspended the three players and its Anti-Corruption tribunal banned the trio for a minimum of five years in February, 2011 and in November a crown court in London sent them to jail for the same offence. After completing his jail-term, Asif preferred to stay back in the United Kingdom but returned home because he was very close to the deceased Chishti, who mentored many international level players for Pakistan from Sheikhupura. Asif said he was disappointed by the ICC and PCB attitude throughout the case. "I was not given a fair chance by anyone to prove my innocence. I reiterate that I have never indulged in corruption and that is why I have appealed against the ICC ban," he said. Asif said he and his family had faced a lot of difficulties since the spot-fixing scandal began and he was also passing through a financial crunch. "But I know the hearing in February is my biggest chance to prove I was not given a fair hearing or trial," he said. He also said that he was planning to bring out a book in which he would reveal a lot of things including the truth about spot fixing. PTI