pakistani cricketers

ICC spot-fixing verdict puts Butt, Asif and Amir in a tight spot

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The ICC tribunal hearing into the spot-fixing scandal made public its verdict last Saturday, the 5th of February 2011.

All three Pakistani cricketers— Salman Butt,  Mohammad Asif and  Mohammad Amir—were indicted and handed bans. The bans ranged from five to 10 years.

The youngest of the lot, Amir, was sentenced to  a five year involuntary hiatus from the sport.Asif and Butt were handed seven and 10 year bans, with two and five years suspended sentences. In effect, all three cricketers have been suspended from the game for a minimum of five years.

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Cricket Bytes: Of Saurav Ganguly,spot-fixing verdicts and World Cup contenders

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Saurav Ganguly is going, going, gone…

The Bengali player’s hopes of participating in IPL4 were dealt a death-blow by objections raised by Royal Challengers Bangalore,Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. Team Kochi had evinced interest in the former Indian captain but could sign him on only if none of the other franchisees demurred. The iconic batsman remained unsold in the 2011 auction.

Although Ganguly fans—particularly Kolkattans—will be disappointed, bending over backwards to accommodate anyone is not the way to run a premier tournament. Accusations of ad-hoc decision making were leveled against Lalit Modi, the ex-IPL honcho. Modifying the rules to suit two interested parties is not in the best interest of the IPL. The IPL Governing Council is managing a business, not a charity.

Besides, if the Kochi team really needed the ex-skipper on their side, they ought to have purchased him outright when they had the opportunity. The chasing after Ganguly now smacks of ill-preparation. Verily, a case of putting the cart before the horse. 

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