14 December,2010 09:14 AM IST | | AFP
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has denied allegations he was involved in a spot fixing scam in England, saying "I have not done anything such as this in all my life or cricketing career".
And he insisted there was no way as a novice skipper he could have improperly influenced any of his players.
Butt in his first major interview since the scandal broke, broadcast on British television's 'Special Report on Sky Sport News' last night, said: "I would like to say obviously I have not done anything such as this in all my life or my cricketing career. But apart from this we as players have a code to follow from the ICC which restricts us to talk about this event before the hearing takes place so I am so sorry but I cannot talk about the case at the moment," added Butt.
"I became captain as a result of an accident where the previous captain suddenly decided he couldn't play Test cricket anymore, so to have this kind of influence inside three or four games I think any kind of captain would like that!," said Butt.
As for the video evidence of Majeed predicting when Amir's huge no-ball would indeed be bowled, Butt said: "This relates to the case and I again remind you about the code. Hopefully, once things settle down, I can tell what I have in my mind right now."
There were reports in the British media that when police raided Butt's London hotel room they found marked notes used in the betting scandal. "People can have their opinions but I actually know where the money came from," he insisted.
