সালমান বাট

A career which was set to achieve heights fell to pieces after events that unfolded during the Lord’s Test against England in August, 2010. Butt, along with pacemen, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were caught involved in spot-fixing activities.

The three players were implicated by the now defunct agency ’News of the World’ whose undercover reporters paid an agent loosely affiliated to some of the Pakistan players a bribe in return for detailed information as to when no-balls would be deliberately bowled.

Butt, who was the Pakistan captain then was said to be the mastermind behind the whole spot-fixing episode, and was banned from all forms of cricket for a period of ten years (Five years in suspended sentence, provided he doesn't commit any more offence). Butt also served a term in prison after being sentence on charges of cheating and accepting corrupt payments.

Until Lord’s though, Butt was the darling of the masses in Pakistan. Loosely resembling Saeed Anwar in his batting technique, Butt was marked as a long time Pakistan captain. Making his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2003, the elegant left-handed batsman had to wait for the Australian tour on 2004-95 to make his mark.

In what was a disastrous tour, Butt left his mark, scoring a half-century at the MCG and followed it up with a century at the SCG. He followed it up with a career best 122 against England in Multan. A run drought followed soon, as Butt reached three figures only in 2010 , against Australia in Hobart. An overall average of 30.46 did not do justice to the enormous talent that he possessed.

While his Test record was average at best, Butt did very well in the shorter formats of the game. He relished the Indian bowling in particular, scoring 5 of his 8 hundreds against them. His unbeaten 108 at Kolkata, during the BCCI platinum jubilee celebrations was the best of the lot, as he overcame sever cramps to steer Pakistan home.

Salman Butt was also a part of the inaugural season of the Indian Premier league. He played for the Kolkata Knight Riders.