The Sindh High Court today, admitted a petition calling for the imposition of a life time ban on paceman Mohammad Amir, who was cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Jan 29 to play domestic cricket.
In his petition, citizen Rana Faizul Hasan said that players who had brought disgrace to the nation should not be allowed to play the sport.
He added that the International Cricket Council and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had allowed Amir to participate in domestic matches, paving his way for a return to international cricket
The petition names the Government of Pakistan, chairman PCB and Mohammad Amir as respondents.
A division bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar will hear the petition, with the next hearing fixed for February 16.
The court also issued notices to the Government of Pakistan through the federal law secretary, PCB chairman Shahryar Khan and Mohammad Amir to submit their responses by the next hearing of the case.
Former captain Salman Butt, bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were banned for spot-fixing during the Pakistan team’s tour of England in 2010. The spot-fixing took place during the fourth test at Lord’s.
The trio, who also served jail sentences in the United Kingdom, were given minimum five year bans by the anti-corruption tribunal of the ICC but while the ban for Butt and Amir ends in August 2015, the former also has been given a two-year suspended sentence.
Amir was allowed to return to domestic cricket earlier than the stipulated, since under the ICC’s revised anti-corruption code a banned player can apply to ICC’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit Chairman (ACSU) to allow him to resume playing domestic cricket before the end of his ban.
