London, Sept. 3: Pakistan and the International Cricket Council were at loggerheads on Friday after the ICC, in a surprise and decisive move, announced the provisional suspension of three players — Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir — over allegations of spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test match last week.
Scotland Yard started questioning the three players at the Kilburn police station in north London early on Friday morning with Amir being the first to be questioned by the investigating team.
He was followed by Asif on Friday afternoon and Salman Butt will be questioned last. The players, accompanied by lawyers provided by the Pakistan high commission, were questioned under caution over allegations of corruption. They have not been charged as yet.
At the same time, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat ruled out any conspiracy towards Pakistan cricket.
“There is absolutely no truth to the suggestion that there is a conspiracy towards Pakistan cricket,” he said, adding: “There is a lot of sympathy for Pakistan and its players.”