Salman Butt In Line For International Return: Reports
Mar 14, 2017 at 10:05 AM
Tainted Pakistan batsman Salman Butt is reportedly in line to return to the national team during the three-match Test series in the West Indies in April.
Butt, along with fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, was convicted of spot-fixing in 2011 and was banned for five years by the ICC. While Amir returned to international cricket in December 2015, Butt and Asif have not been considered for national selection.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which has remained reluctant to give formal clearance to Butt to play for Pakistan again, has now given the green light to selectors to consider the player’s name. Consequently, Pakistan chief selector and head coach Mickey Arthur are mulling the prospect of drafting the opening batsman into the team.
“Now the PCB has given its clearance and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has had a discussion with the national team’s head coach Mickey Arthur about probable selections for the Test series in the West Indies and Butt’s name has been discussed seriously,” a source told PTI.
Butt has been doing really well in the domestic arena for quite some time now. During the 2016 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the 32-year-old scored 741 runs in 10 matches at an impressive average of 49.40 to lead Water & Port Development Authority (WAPDA) to their maiden title. Before that, Butt had scored 536 runs at an average of 107 in the National One-Day Cup.
The source further added the left-handed batsman is likely to be called up for the national training camp, that’ll be set up before the announcement of the squad.