Salman Butt awaits his opportunity

There is an abundance of opening batsmen for the Pakistan cricket team. After years of disappointment at the top, selectors now have a choice of Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Fakhar Zaman, Inam-ul-Haq, Ahmed Shahzad, Kamran Akmal, Khurram Manzoor and Mukhtar Ahmed.

A name which has been missing from the list is that of Salman Butt – the left-handed opener who was the central character in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal. After serving his sentence, Butt is now back to playing cricket and desires to return to the Pakistan team. “I hope to get an opportunity to play for Pakistan in the last years of my career. I hope to perform well and eliminate the negative impression people have of me.”

Salman Butt said he had admitted to his crime and served his sentence, however, there was one law for him and another for others. “After serving my five-year sentence I have been consistently performing well.”

Last week during the National T20 tournament Salman Butt along with Kamran Akmal recorded the highest opening partnership of 209 runs in T20 cricket.