ICC to give Pak players a chance to present case

International Cricket Council (ICC) President Sharad Pawar clarified on Sunday that the three tainted Pakistani cricketers had not been punished by the world cricket body for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing and they would get a chance to present their case.

Pawar said that the ICC has not punished anybody as yet and sought to inform that under the ICC anti-corruption rules, the suspected players needed to be notified and an investigation needed to be conducted.

"We have to send a notice to that particular player but that notice is not a final decision. It is a means of giving him (player) an opportunity to explain his position," a Times Now report quoted Pawar as saying today.

"This is not an action (the suspension), this is a sort of notice to them and an opportunity to explain. If he is not guilty then certainly he has the right to put his views," he said.

Pawar's comments came a day after Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan attacked the ICC saying that world body has violated the general principle of law - ''innocent until proven guilty.''

"This is not an action (the suspension), this is a sort of notice to them and an opportunity to explain. If he is not guilty then certainly he has the right to put his views," he said.

He also informed that the ICC would appoint an independent commissioner to look into the charges.

Any action would be taken on recommendation of the appointed commissioner, Pawar stated.

On Aug.29, the visiting Pakistan cricket team invited a police investigation into allegations of match-fixing as a London-based Pakistani property developer was arrested after being secretly filmed accepting 150,000 pounds from an undercover reporter.

The journalist posed himself as a middleman for a betting syndicate ahead of the Pakistan-England Test match at the Lord''s on Aug.26. 

Pakistan lost the match by an innings and 225 runs on Aug.29 – and with that the four-match series 3-1.

Footage from the film showed Mazhar Majeed (35) counting the money while telling the reporter of the News of the World that Pakistani bowlers would bowl three no-balls on the first day of the match on Thursday.

Three no-balls were bowled by Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif exactly at the times he predicted on the following day.