Pakistan's teenage paceman Mohammad Aamer has decided not to appeal a five-year ban imposed for spot-fixing during the 2010 Lord's Test against England, an official said on Thursday. The highly-rated 19-year-old was released from a British prison last month after serving half of a six-month sentence for his part in the scandal during the Test between England and Pakistan in 2010.
His former teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are serving sentences of 30 and 12 months respectively, handed down by a British court in November, after the trio were found guilty of corruption and receiving illegal money. The International Cricket Council (ICC) also banned all three for violating the players' code of conduct, with Aamer receiving the minimum five-year punishment.
"Through his lawyer, Aamer has informed us that he has no intention of filing an appeal against the ban," an ICC spokesman told AFP from Dubai. Under the rules, Aamer could have appealed against the ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland, but legal experts believe he lost that possibility after pleading guilty in Britain. Aamer, who returned to Pakistan on Sunday, has vowed to revive his career.
After making his debut in 2009 he was soon considered one of the brightest new talents in international cricket, but his career was derailed by the scandal on the tour of England. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf said Aamer is still "an asset and a world class bowler". "We will consider him for selection once his ban is over," he told a news conference in Islamabad.