'PCB's passiveness forced ICC to suspend players'

Karachi: The failure of Pakistan cricket bosses to take action against three players accused of spot-fixing forced the world governing body to intervene by suspending them, former selectors said on Friday.

It is believed that the PCB’s failure to take any action against the three accused players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer – forced the ICC to issue suspension orders against them.

"The ICC has suspended the Pakistani players because the PCB ( Pakistan Cricket Board) showed reluctance in acting itself," the team's former chief selector Iqbal Qasim said.

"In fact the statements from Pakistani officials that no players would be suspended, forced the ICC to take action.

"That players were free to play was not acceptable to the England board and to the ICC, because had these players played in more matches, there would have been reaction from England players and fans," said Qasim.

After the trio was accused of spot-fixing following a sting operation from a British tabloid, the PCB had said they will not take any action against the players till investigation proves them guilty.

Pakistan's ambassador to London railed against the ICC for pre-judging the outcome of a British police investigation, after the world body pressed charges against the three players under its anti-corruption code.

But another former chief selector, Salahuddin Ahmed, said the PCB itself should have stepped in.

"The PCB should have suspended the players after Sunday's report in the newspaper, because these players would never have been in the right frame of mind after all those allegations," he said.

"We haven't seen anything from (PCB chairman Ijaz) Butt, and the manager (Yawar Saeed) is unable to answer any question asked to him... by the media, so all this ineptitude is coming from the PCB and its officials."

Ahmed said the scandal had "stained Pakistan's image" and that in future, "Pakistan must select only those players who have a clean image".