Salman Butt’s national recall shelved in the wake up PSL spot-fixing scandal

A recall for former Pakistan captain Salman Butt looks uncertain in the light of the continuous fallout from the scandals emanating from the PSL’s second edition.

Butt does not have any connection to the PSL corruption issue, but he played a role in the fixing scandal in England in 2010, for which the player faced a ban, and has forced the selectors to rethink his recall ahead of Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies. Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of PCB, had publicly cleared Butt’s potential selection earlier this year, but he may have to wait longer for a comeback.

ESPNcricinfo reported that Butt was informed by a selector last month that he was being re-considered for the national side. But he was told last week that those plans had been buried for now, as the circumstances are not ideal for his return.

Nasir Jamshed, Shahzaib Hasan, Khalid Latif, Sharjeel Khan and Mohammed Irfan, all of the five players were provisionally suspended for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the PSL and they face various corruption charges. The PCB is keen to avoid criticism by considering Butt’s recall, who has not played for his country since returning to domestic cricket from a five-year ban for corruption.

Butt’s selection had also been cancelled ahead of Pakistan’s tour to England in 2016, when the captain Misbah-ul-Haq admitted he was impressed by Butt’s form.

“We have a settled line up between numbers three and seven but the opening slot is not as consistent as the rest of the order,” Misbah had told ESPNcricinfo last year. “There are issues and we are looking at a couple more options including Shan Masood and Salman Butt. Salman is playing well and overall I didn’t see any such difference since he left [in 2010]. He is a good prospect and he has also scored ample runs after his comeback.”