Published: Jan 30, 2015, 10:07 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 30, 2015, 10:07 AM (IST)
Even though Michael Holding greeted the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to allow Mohammad Aamer play domestic cricket, the West Indies legend said if he repeats then it will be the end of his career.
“I hope he makes a successful return, but if he transgresses again, that should be it,” Holding was quoted as saying by MiD-Day.
Aamer’s ban will expire on September 2, but ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) allowed him to participate in domestic matches in Pakistan.
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“I don’t have a problem with him being allowed back a bit ahead of the stipulated time for two reasons.”
“Firstly I think he [Aamer] was coerced into doing what he did by his captain [Salman Butt] and senior players that he looked up to and at age 18 or 19, with very little exposure to the real world, I can see how he could have been duped.”
“Secondly, I have seen criminals who commit much worse crimes than Aamer, being given sentences by the courts and not serving the entire time given at the trial. And I think in law, accomplices to a crime usually get a lesser sentence than those who actually organise the crime.”
Holding, who was on the verge of tears while speaking about Aamer’s no-ball and involvement in spot-fixing during the 2010 Lord’s Test match between Pakistan and England, had then said, “It just doesn’t look good. It wasn’t a small no-ball and we have not seen that from him before, but it is so sad, David — an 18-year-old with that sort of talent and then for him to be getting involved in this (spot fixing). I am absolutely sure he didn’t go looking for anyone. Someone has dragged him into this. This is so sad.”
According to media reports, when Aamer was about to be sentenced to jail for six months for his involvement in spot-fixing, the 22-year-old’s lawyers requested Holding to write a letter to the judge.
“When I was approached by Mohammad Aamer’s lawyers — because I think they recognised how distressed I was that he was involved in all this at a tender age — they asked me just to write to the judge to say on Mohammad Aamer’s behalf what I thought of him as a cricketer. Obviously I don’t know Mohammad Aamer as a person; I was just talking about what I saw in Mohammad Aamer as a cricketer and what I thought he could contribute to the game in the future.”
“That’s all I did — I wrote a letter to the judge; I wasn’t asking for any leniency for Mohammad Aamer. I was just asking the judge to look at the fact that he is such a young man with such talent and someone that the game could use in the future,” Holding said.
