OTD| Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were banned after they were found guilty of spot-fixing in 2011

The game of cricket has a lot of good memories which we like to remember for the rest of our lives and cherish with our hearts. But with the great moments also come the dark moments of the game as well. These are those moments that we wish to forget as soon as possible in the cricketing world. One of those days was. It was the same day but just a different timeline where three extremely talented cricketers made a complete mockery of the game making the 5th of February 2011 one of the most embarrassing and treacherous days in cricket history. There is no individual who will want to remember this day, especially if he is a Pakistan cricket fan.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were among the most talented players in Pakistan, Butt was the Pakistan skipper and was having a great international career and was averaging over 30 in both ODI and Tests. On the other hand, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were said to be the most dangerous fast-bowling duo Pakistan had ever produced at that time. Everything was going right for these three individuals where Butt was scoring runs and was known for his sublime technique, Asif taking wickets with his magical art of seam bowling and Amir was the upcoming young prodigy of the new-age Pakistan side.

One scandal to ruin great careers

There was a man called Mazhar Majeed who was a bookmaker involved in a scandal of spot-fixing during the England vs Pakistan Test match at lord. The shocking part was when he mentioned the names of three of the most well-known cricketers in Pakistan who were praised for their performances earlier. This came as a shock to the fans as well who couldn’t believe that these individuals could commit such a horrible crime and betray the game that had got them to where they were. Mazhar had revealed that he had got Butt and the two pacers together and offered them money to plan to bowl no-balls during the game.

With all the news and allegations and the courts adjudging them guilty for these deeds, the three cricketers were finally banned by the Apex Cricket Council for a term of 5 years. This also led to a lot of problems for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as that was also the time that these amazing players were also set to feature in the World Cup as well. This was a very dark day in the cricketing world which none of us want to remember since this was not only the day three men betrayed the gentlemen’s game, it was also the day where the cricketing world lost three absolutely amazing cricketers who were set to have a great future ahead of them.