Salman Butt, the disgraced former Pakistan captain, could face a possible punishment after taking part in the unsanctioned Ajman All Stars T20 League that is the subject of an International Cricket Council investigation into possible match-fixing.
Footage of the competition, which features a string of calamitous dismissals during one of its matches in the United Arab Emirates last week, went viral on social media on Tuesday after the ICC’s anti-corruption chief, Alex Marshall, announced the investigation was under way.
It has now emerged that Butt, who was banned from cricket for five years and served time in prison following the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal of 2010, played two matches in the All Stars event despite it being unrecognised by the local Emirates Cricket Board.
“I went there as I was not picked for [my domestic team] Lahore and I was doing nothing,” Butt told the Press Trust of India. “But when I reached there I realised it was just an amateur-level event which had no match referee, ICC anti-corruption representative or even scorers.
“Since the spot-fixing scandal, I try to stay away as far as possible from any related controversies. I am happy the ICC is investigating the event because there were lot of flaws in it. But I played just two games and then went away to Dubai.”
Though Butt does not appear in the footage that has circulated online and has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, the 33-year-old’s presence at an unsanctioned tournament could still have repercussions for his first-class career in Pakistan.
The ICC cannot hand down punishments for events in matches outside its jurisdiction but could still push for participants – reported to include other former internationals – to be banned from official cricket for not obtaining the correct clearance from their home board.
Butt claims he was told by organisers that the no-objection certificate usually required for overseas cricket was not needed as it was a private league. “When I went there I realised it was just a badly managed street-level event and it made no sense to me,” he added.
The ICC is keen to crack down on so-called “micro-leagues”, which are broadcast on the subcontinent, gambled upon in the illegal betting markets and seen as a possible entry point for would-be corrupters of official cricket at international and domestic level.
The Anjam Oval, which hosted the matches, has already been suspended by its local cricket board, while the ICC is understood to have contacted Indian broadcasters Neo Sports for details of the organisers following its initial tip-off by two players.
