Who is behind Salman Butt ouster from PCB selection committee?

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Pakistan cricket was embroiled in controversy yet again when fixing-tainted Salman Butt was axed by PCB a day after being appointed as one of the consultant members of the selection committee for the national team. While the appointment at first place received intense criticism, a report revealed who was the man behind Salman Butt's swift ouster.

Salman Butt, along with Kamran Akmal and Rao Iftikhar Anjum, on Thursday (December 1) was hired as a consultant to newly-appointed chief selector Wahab Riaz. However, a day later Wahab Riaz announced that the 39-year-old retired cricketer was removed from his role. Cricketpakistan.com reported that Mohammad Hafeez was the man behind the decision.

The newly-appointed Pakistan cricket team director was vocal about Salman Butt's inclusion in the selection panel while showing resentment over his troubled past to PCB officials. As per the report, Mohammad Hafeez, who is currently touring Australia with the Pakistan squad, made phone calls to PCB headquarters and urged for Butt's removal as he found it uncomfortable to work with someone, who was found guilty of spot fixing back in 2010 during England vs Pakistan Test series.

While Wahab Riaz was the man to announce the decision in public, it was the chief selector himself, who pushed for his inclusion in the national setup as the duo reportedly share a close friendship. Riaz discussed the same with Hafeez before the latter left for Australia but the latter adviced against it. Former pacer Riaz, however, gained approval from PCB for Salman Butt's inclusion.

Hafeez, in fact, had to face the wrath of fans on social media upon Salman Butt's appointment as old videos of him criticising working with 'match fixers' resurfaced online. Mohammad Hafeez found the criticism unwarranted and made his grievances heard to PCB.

The 2010's spot-fixing scandal is among the dark days of Pakistan cricket when bookmaker Majher Majeed was caught on camera saying that then-Pakistan captain Salman Butt and frontline pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have taken bribe from him to purposely bowl no balls during a Test match at Lord's in August 2010.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned the three convicted cricketers for terms between 5 to 10 years. A year later, Butt and Asif were also found guilty by a London court on criminal charges relating to spot-fixing. The three cricketers and Majeed were given prison sentences, ranging from six months to 32 months.