Salman Butt
Pakistani cricketer
- Entries
- 9
- On the record
- 4
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Dec 2, 2023
The record
Salman Butt was named Pakistan's Test captain at a Pakistan Cricket Board meeting on July 17, 2010, replacing Shahid Afridi for the rest of the tour of England. Weeks later he was at the center of the spot-fixing case from the Lord's Test that August. The ICC suspended him provisionally from September 2, 2010, and an independent anti-corruption tribunal in Doha found the charges against him proved in February 2011, including a failure to report an approach from agent Mazhar Majeed during the Oval Test.
The criminal case ran in London. Butt pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling, and a Southwark Crown Court jury convicted him, unanimously on the cheating count and by a 10-2 majority on the payments count. He was jailed for 30 months in November 2011 and released from Canterbury prison after seven months. In April 2013 the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed his appeal against the length of the ICC ban; he had not contested the guilty finding there.
His ban ended on September 2, 2015, and the Pakistan Cricket Board said he and Mohammad Asif would start with monitored club cricket before any wider return. After the CAS ruling Butt had said he would go back to cricket if he performed once the ban ended. In December 2023 chief selector Wahab Riaz named him a consultant to the national selectors, then withdrew the appointment a day later, citing their friendship and accusations of nepotism.
Roles and honours on the record
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- Ruled
ICC tribunal finds spot-fixing charges proved; Butt banned 10 years, 5 suspended; his counsel says he maintains innocence. Biggest punishments in sport: Armstrong's stripped titles lead
Stories in this file
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The record, entry by entry
- 2010-07-17 Official The Pakistan Cricket Board named Butt, then 25, as Test captain after Shahid Afridi resigned, for the second Test against Australia and the four-Test series against England. Stabroek News report
- 2011-02-05 Ruled An independent ICC anti-corruption tribunal in Doha found Butt guilty over spot-fixing at the August 2010 Lord's Test and of failing to report an approach by Mazhar Majeed during the Oval Test. He was banned for 10 years, five suspended, backdated to his provisional suspension of September 2, 2010. International Cricket Council release
- 2011-02-10 Official The ICC published a redacted version of the tribunal's final determination, with read-only access limited to seven days and blocked inside England and Wales because of the pending criminal case. International Cricket Council release
- 2011-11-03 Ruled Southwark Crown Court jailed Butt for 30 months after a jury convicted him of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling. He had pleaded not guilty to both counts. Al Jazeera report
- 2012-06-21 Reported Butt was released from Canterbury prison after serving seven months of the 30-month term, Al Jazeera reported; his solicitors said he would return home to rebuild his reputation. Al Jazeera report
- 2013-04-17 Ruled The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed Butt's appeal, finding the ICC sanction was not disproportionate. Butt had not contested the guilty finding, only the length of the ban; his lawyer said the team was bitterly disappointed. Al Jazeera report
- 2015-09-02 Reported The five-year active part of Butt's ICC ban ended. A Pakistan Cricket Board official said he and Mohammad Asif would be limited to controlled club cricket under monitoring at first. SBS News report
- 2023-12-02 Reported A day after the PCB announced Butt as a consultant to the selectors, chief selector Wahab Riaz reversed the decision, saying the two were friends and he had been accused of nepotism. Al Jazeera report