PCB rules out early return for Butt, Asif

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday ruled out an early return to international cricket for the disgraced trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif ahead of the imminent expiry of their spot-fixing bans.

The players are eligible to return to the sport on September 2 after serving five-year bans for bowling no-balls to order during a Test match in England in 2010.

Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chief selector Haroon Rasheed was quoted by the Dawn, as saying that no time frame can be given by the selection committee at this point in time with regards to their future involvement in cricket at any level until and unless proper policy guidelines are issued by the PCB.

In February 2011 an anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council (ICC) imposed a ban of five years on Amir, seven years on Asif-of which the final two years were conditionally suspended-and 10 years on Butt-of which the final five years were conditionally suspended.

They were charged with violating the ICC code of conduct by receiving money in return for arranging deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test against England in 2010.