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PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt has ruled out suspending any of the Pakistan players involved in the spot-fixing allegations, and said that for such an action the police investigation into the matter has to come up with solid evidence.

“There is a case going on over here with the Scotland Yard,” Ijaz was quoted as saying by cricinfo. “This is only an allegation. There is still no charge or proof on that account. So at this stage there will be no action taken.”

Butt’s decision means there is the very real possibility that the tainted players will take the field in the ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals that the team is slated to play against England.

The three players most prominently named in the allegations are Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, while Kamran Akmal’s name has also cropped up as part of the ring of crooked players. Butt, Amir and Asif have had their mobile phones confiscated, but they all arrived with the rest of the Pakistan squad at Taunton with a heavy police presence outside the team hotel.

Pakistan are scheduled to play a match against Somerset on Thursday, 2nd September and it will go ahead as planned, as per statements from the ICC, whose president Sharad Pawar has stated, “It’s the desire of the ICC England and Pakistan that the series should continue.”

This was echoed by ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat, who said, “At the moment, it is also appropriate that the game continues. We shouldn’t let everyone suffer because of a couple of individuals that might have got caught up in corrupt practices. The vast majority of players are not guilty of any such behaviour. They play the sport in the right spirit, and there are many fans who want to watch the game.”

The players though, were not spared by the press and the fans. While the Pakistan press was extremely harsh, views were echoed in newspapers around the world and in England, where several former players called for the tour to be cancelled.

The fans were even more vocal, with processions being taken out in Pakistan and fans in England chanting “thieves” outside the players team bus.

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This post was submitted by Harshit Agrawal.

Thanks to www.cricbuzz.com