'Asif, Butt can return to competitive cricket after Sep 1'

Pakistani cricketers Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt will be free to return to competitive action on Sept. 2 after serving bans for involvement in match-fixing, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday.

The pair, suspended in 2011 for their part in attempting to fix the 2010 Lord's Test against England, have fulfilled the conditions laid down by the ICC's independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir will also be eligible to return to international cricket at the same time. He started playing domestic cricket again in Pakistan earlier this year.

The three players were found guilty in 2011 of various offences of corrupt behaviour and their punishments were backdated to start in September 2010.

Amir, 23, was banned for five years, 32-year-old Asif for seven with the final two years suspended on specified conditions and 30-year-old Butt, who was Pakistan captain, for 10 years with the last five suspended.

They all served jail sentences in