PSL franchisees voice concerns over Salman Butt’s inclusion in commentary panel

Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt, who was convicted for spot-fixing, has been included in the PSL 10 commentary panel, having generated discontent among the franchise owners. Their objections were not taken into account before the declaration, even after a joint letter had been written by them.

In 2010, Salman Butt, together with fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, were embroiled in the scandal of spot-fixing in the Lord's Test and were sent to jail in London. Upon their bans, only Amir returned to the national team, whereas Asif continues to reside in the United States for quite some time already. Salman Butt is now the head of the Ghani Glass Institute of Cricket in Lahore.

Sources reported that upon learning that Salman Butt would be in the commentary panel, the PSL franchises signed a joint plea to the authorities in the form of a joint letter. The letter did not mention any name but requested that no one who had been in any form of unethical activities, fixing, or had been incarcerated be included in the panel as it would tarnish the reputation of the league. PSL officials had nevertheless ignored this request, and Salman Butt's name remained in the formal panel of commentators the very next day.

As retaliation for the franchises' protests, it was announced that Salman Butt would be providing commentary in Urdu, which would probably not be easily identifiable outside of Pakistan. It should be noted that recently, Salman Butt had been interviewing national cricketers for PCB Digital, and towards the end of 2023, he had been appointed as an advisor to Chief Selector Wahab Riaz for a brief while. This decision was swiftly revoked following vehement public outrage. Presently, Salman Butt is associated with an organization whose representatives are members of the governing board of PCB as well.

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