Amir not in favour of postponing ICC hearing

Karachi:

Pakistan suspended Test captain Salman Butt might be keen on deferring the hearing of the International Cricket Council (ICC) code of conduct commission tribunal but young pacer Mohammad Amir is not in favour of any postponement.

Amir today said he wants a decision on his suspension as soon as possible.

"No my lawyers don't want the hearing to be postponed. I want a decision from the ICC on my suspension and case as soon as possible," Amir said on Geo television.

The ICC had suspended Butt, Amir and Muhammad Asif on September 2 on allegations of spot-fixing during their tour of England.

The ICC has now scheduled a full hearing of its code of conduct commission tribunal from January 6 to 11 in Doha, Qatar to hear the charges against the suspended trio and decide their fates.

Butt through his lawyer has now requested the ICC to postpone the hearing on the grounds that it should not be held until the Scotland Yard completes its investigations into the spot-fixing allegations against the three players.

The ICC has scheduled a teleconference with the players and their lawyers on Wednesday to resolve the issue.

Amir, however, made it clear that he was not in favour of a postponement.

"My lawyers have worked hard on this and prepared a lot and we want a decision on these allegations as soon as possible. I can't keep my career in limbo for so long," Amir said.

The young left-arm pacer, who is charged with deliberately sending down no-balls in the fourth Test against England at Lords on the tour on the behest of Pakistani bookmaker Mazhar Majeed, also made it clear he had not given up hope of playing in the World Cup.

"A decision should come soon and so far the ICC has been very cooperative and cordial with us and we have had no issues with them so we want this hearing on schedule," he said.

The teenager also denied that the ICC had made an offer to him to turn approver and witness in the case.

"No such thing has ever been said to me. I have left everything up to God. Good and Bad times are both given by God and if he wants me to play again nothing can stop that from happening. So I just pray and hope for the best," he said.

Asked if he would be disappointed if the ICC penalised him at the hearing, Amir said he was not thinking that far ahead but yes he would be disappointed.

"Like I said all these things in life one has to face and hope God will do what is best for you," he added.

Amir admitted that it had been hard for him to not play cricket for so long.

"Cricket has been my life and it has been terribly disappointing missing important matches for my country and with the World Cup round the corner. But my family and friends and my fans have been supportive so I am hoping for the best," he said.

"I also want to reiterate here I have not done anything wrong and I am sure all allegations will be proven wrong," he said.

He also said that the police had taken his mobile phone and laptop as part of the ongoing investigations and they would be returned once the investigations were over.

"People should just keep in mind that everyone is innocent unless proven guilty so they should be careful before giving statements," he said.

Amir also noted that Pakistan cricket team had suffered a lot because of the refusal of teams to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.

"When we were playing matches at home we were ranked in the top three teams but obviously not getting a chance to play in home conditions has hurt us badly," he said.