 | « Back to article | Print this article |
A day after the Pakistan Cricket Board appointed Salman Butt as consultant to Chief Selector Wahab Riaz, the former international cricketer was swiftly removed from the position on Saturday.
Riaz held a press conference to formally announce the immediate withdrawal of Butt from the consultancy panel.
A statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board read: "Chief selector Wahab Riaz has opted to reverse his decision to induct Salman Butt as a consultant member to the selection committee. The decision to appoint Salman Butt was under consideration, and after a thorough review it has been decided he will not be appointed as a consultant member."
The statement added: "The authority of choosing a consultant member, whose role relates to providing recommendations and input to the selection committee, rests solely with the chief selector. Any additional members for the selection committee consultancy panel will be announced in due course."
Butt's appointment encountered strong resistance within the PCB, with reports suggesting discomfort among some employees of the administrative body.
An individual within the organization, reportedly uneasy with the selection of the 39-year-old tainted cricketer as a consultant, even threatened to resign.
On Friday, the 39-year-old Butt, who made a successful return to cricket in 2016 after serving a five-year ban for spot-fixing, was named along with former teammates Kamran Akmal and Rao Iftikhar Anjum as consultant members to Riaz, the recently-appointed chief selector.
The Pakistan team is currently in Australia for a three-Test series, beginning December 14, at Perth.
Following the conclusion of the series, Pakistan will tour New Zealand for five T20Is, beginning January 12.
Butt was suspended for five years for his role in spot-fixing during the Pakistan-England Test in August 2010.
After returning to cricket in 2016, he enjoyed success as a batter and captain in domestic competitions but was never considered for the national team again even though Muhammad Amir, his partner in crime, was fast-tracked into the Pakistan side by the board in 2016.
Butt, Amir and Muhammad Asif were found guilty of spot-fixing by the national crime agency in the United Kingdom and also served time in jail and the International Cricket Council imposed bans on them.
Butt, under whose captaincy Pakistan won a Test against Australia at Headingley and one against England at the Oval in 2010, has always complained of being treated unjustly while admitting remorse over his actions.