Salman Butt apologises to Afridi for spot fixing episode

Salman Butt apologises to Afridi for spot fixing episode: Salman Butt, the disgraced Pakistan cricketer has come forward with a personal apology to Shahid Afridi for the the infamous spot fixing episode of 2010. According to an eye witness when the two crossed paths at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, Butt broke out in front of Afridi at the ground where the Pakistan squad is training for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe. It seemed the former Pakistan opener, who was the Test captain at the time of the scandal approached Afridi with the particular aim of offering his side of the story.

“Butt who is coming to the NCA to train went up to Afridi in the presence of some other players and with tears in his eyes apologised to him, he told Afridi he was sorry for what had happened in England and that he should have listened to his (Afridi’s) advice. He asked the Pakistan T20 captain to forgive him for his role in the spot fixing scandal. Afridi kept quiet and then obviously embarrassed by the situation mumbled to Butt that he should focus on his cricket,” the witness said.

Butt, along with teammates Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir, was banned for five years by the ICC for the spot fixing scandal and also served his time in jail in the United Kingdom. The five-year bans on the trio expired on September 1 and the ICC said they could return to playing cricket but a reintegration and rehabilitation program announced by the PCB has meant they have to complete the course to qualify playing first class cricket. That effectively rules out any possibility of the trio returning before February 2016. An integral and difficult part of the program mentions apologizing to their teammates and convincing them to accept their presence back on the field.

A source close to the players said some of the national team players were uncomfortable to see Butt, Asif and Aamir at the NCA and had conveyed this to their team management. Both Afridi and head coach Waqar Younis had appeared as witnesses against the trio when the ICC anti-corruption tribunal held its inquiry into the spot fixing scandal in 2011.