Lahore: The three Pakistani players, who are at the centre of a spot-fixing scandal, will return home in the next few days while fast bowler Wahab Riaz will appear before police on September 14 for questioning in connection with the worst scandal that has rocked the world cricket.
Disclosing this, PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt told a press conference that the three players will return since there are no police charges against them nor have their movement been restricted. "They were interviewed for nine hours. If there was anything against them they would have been arrested. They did not arrest them," he said.
Butt however did not say why Riaz will be interrogated by the police. "Police has also asked Wahab Riaz should be made available to them for an interview on 14/09/2010 and we have arranged for the interview in London."
Riaz will be the fourth Pakistani player to be questioned by police. Test captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last week. British tabloid 'News of the World' last month accused Butt, Asif and Amir of taking bribe for bowling deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test against England.
Butt, who returned here yesterday, said the Scotland Yard has not shared any incriminating material against the suspended players.
"Since the players are neither being charged nor is there any restriction on their movement, we have informed the police that they will be travelling back to Pakistan in the next few days," Butt said. He said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would continue to cooperate with the police. "Rest assured we will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of the issue."
Refusing to go into details of the scandal since the matter was still under investigation, Butt said on August 29 Scotland Yard police came to hotel where the players were staying with warrants to search the rooms of 13 players. "They took away some of the players' belongings but no incriminating material has been shared with us". PTI
