UK Government could suppress Salman Butt’s Test recall

Salman Butt’s chances of making his comeback against England could be suppressed by the UK Government. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were hoping to name Salman Butt in the squad for their forthcoming tour to England.

Butt was involved in the match-fixing controversy along with bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir in 2010 when Pakistan toured England. He was then, the captain of the Pakistan and was jailed for 30 months for his part in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal that was centred on delivering no-balls to order.

However, Butt served just seven months of the sentence before being allowed to return back to Pakistan under the UK government’s early release scheme, which means that the person is formally deported and cannot return to the UK within 10 years of the end of the original sentence.

As a result of this, the veteran left-handed batsman might miss out on the chance of making it to the Test team for the England tour. As per the laws, Butt’s visa could be stopped by the UK Home Office. In a section relating to refusing visas, the UK Home Office website states: “If a person has been sentenced to a period of between 12 months and less than 4 years imprisonment, the ECO [Entry Clearance Officer] must refuse the application until 10 years has passed since the end of the sentence.

Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq had earlier showed interest in bringing back the southpaw in the side. “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,” quoted Misbah.

Former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis was also keen on roping in Salman Butt for the World T20.

Salman Butt was the second leading run-scorer in the National One-Day Cup with 536 runs at an average of 107.20.

Read also – Change for Pakistan cricket will take time: Inzamam-ul-Haq