Pakistan's largest bank said Monday it had decided not to renew the contracts of three leading cricketers banned on corruption charges. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were on the National Bank payroll for playing on the institution's cricket team in domestic tournaments. Butt was banned for 10 years with a five-year suspended ban, Asif for seven years with two-year suspended ban and Aamer for five years by an anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council.
The charges related to the Lord's Test between Pakistan and England last August when they allegedly took money to obey orders from a bookmaker. "The contracts of the three players expired on December 31, 2010 and the bank has decided not to renew the contracts," National Bank's sports department head Iqbal Qasim told AFP.
Butt was a prolific performer for the bank's team for eight years, while Asif and Aamer were employed for three years. Butt will appear as a commentator on a national television channel during the World Cup, jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. All three players have hinted they will appeal against the bans. They have 21 days - from February 5, when the bans were imposed - to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Switzerland.
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