PCB revokes suspended trio's central contracts

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has suspended the central contracts of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, who are being investigated for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the tour of England in 2010. The decision was taken after Butt and Amir's appeals against their provisional suspensions were dismissed by the ICC in Dubai on Sunday. Asif, who withdrew his appeal ahead of the hearings, also remained provisionally suspended.

'We only give contracts to players who can play for Pakistan. Until their cases are decided ... they can't get any benefits from the board in terms of contracts," PCB legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi said.

Board official Zakir Khan also said the contracts had to be revoked following the ICC's latest decision. "Their contracts were active until the appeal hearing, but once their initial appeals were rejected, under the ICC code we can't keep them on contracts."

The board pays a monthly salary of about Rs. 250,000 ($2916) to players in the top grade, which the three suspended players are now ineligible for. Butt, Amir and Asif will appear before an independent anti-corruption tribunal that will look into the actual charges and give a verdict on whether they are innocent or guilty. Amir's lawyer Shahid Karim told Reuters that under the ICC code of conduct, the sport's governing body had to decide by December 2 whether to remove or retain the suspensions on the players.