Disgraced Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif has advised former captain Ramiz Raja not to criticise the banned trio that includes him as well as Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamir, who are hoping to revive their international careers.
Asif, Butt and Aamir served their respective bans from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their involvement in the infamous spot-fixing case during 2010 and are now looking forward to revive their international careers.
After meeting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shahryar Khan to give his availability for the rehab programme, Asif pointed out that while Raja had shown a soft corner for West Indies player Marlon Sameuls, who faced punishment in a similar case of match-fixing, he was not ready to show the same sentiments for the Pakistan players which was surprising, The Dawn reported.
Raja had recently raised objections to fast-tracking the resumption of Amir's career under the new ICC rules. The PCB has sent a letter to the ICC to seek permission for Amir to allow him to play domestic cricket as his five-year ban still have almost a year to go before it ends in Sept 2015.
Asif said that his meeting with PCB chairman was satisfactory and, hopefully, he would get the permission to complete the rehab programme to continue his career as an international cricketer. Butt had also met the chairman a few days ago to get the permission for rehab enrollment.
However, sources revealed that the ICC and the PCB have a soft corner for Aamir only because he had acted as approver in the spot-fixing case from the very outset while both Butt and Asif had contested their cases at the World Arbitration Court but failed to get a decision in their favour, the report added.