Mohammad Aamir released from British prison

Resham Ahmed February 2, 2012 1

Mohammad Aamir released from British prison

LONDON: Pakistan’s tainted left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Aamir, who was detained in a British young offenders institution for six months after accepting bribe for bowling intentional No Balls in a Test match, was released on Wednesday, three months ahead of the schedule.

Mohammad Aamir was one of the three Pakistani cricketers detained in different British prisons in the infamous spot-fixing case. However, his good behavior during detention has earned Aamir an early release from the scheduled six months.

The other two cricketers were the then captain Salman Butt and the senior fast bowler Mohammad Asif who along with their agent Mazhar Majeed were involved in illegal practices during the international cricket matches.

Mohammad Aamir, 19, became a young sensation in 2009-10 cricket season when he dismantled the world’s top batsmen with his lethal pace and sublime swing bowling as many cricket experts had regarded him as the best bowling talent in such a tender age. Some former Pakistani Test cricketers went to the extent of labeling Mohammad Aamir as the best bowler at this age, even better than Wasim Akram and Imran Khan.

However, Pakistan’s 2010 tour to England proved a U-turn in Mohammad Aamir’s career when during the Lord’s Test in August he along with the two senior cricketers became part of the spot-fixing scandal which brought shame and disrepute to the Gentlemen’s Game. Thereafter, the three cricketers were banned by the ruling International Cricket Council (ICC) from all formats of cricket for different periods.

A legal proceeding in the London Southwark Crown Court then found the three cricketers and their agent guilty of corruption and jailed them in different British jails for multiple months at the start of November last year.

After getting released from the young offenders institution, Mohammad Aamir is likely to return home but his visa allows him to stay in England till the end of March and sources told The Sports Encounter that he is in no mood to hurry his return.

The sources further informed that the left-arm fast bowler will consult his legal team to lodge an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the five-year ICC ban which were imposed in February last year.

It is important to mention here that Mohammad Aamir’s partner in the spot-fixing scandal, Mohammad Asif, has already appealed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against his seven-year ICC ban.

The judge conducting trial at the Southwark Crown Court, Jeremy Cooke had described Mohammad Aamir as Unsophisticated, Uneducated and Impressionable and Readily Leant On By Others but he also mentioned evidences proving that the left-armer had previously discussed rigging a match with one of his betting contacts in Pakistan.

The doors of international cricket are still open for Mohammad Aamir who has taken 51 wickets from his 14 Test matches as Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf said last year that the fast bowler was a great find for Pakistan cricket and he will be considered for national selection after the ICC would clear him.

Zaka Ashraf had said, “Whenever he is cleared by the International Cricket Council and serves his punishment, we think he needs intense counselling and then the selectors can decide about him”.

The International Cricket Council has stepped up its efforts against the scourge of spot-fixing following the scandal but the illegal international betting network is quite strong and a lot more is yet to be done in this regard.