PCB confident of getting Aamir's visa for England tour

Pakistan Cricket Board is confident that tainted left-arm pacer Muhammad Aamir will soon be issued a visa to play in the series against England in the United Kingdom this summer. A top official of the Board today said that all the homework done to secure a visa for Aamir should bear fruit by next week.

“We see no reason for Aamir not to get a visa because we have been in touch with the England and Wales Cricket Board and the UK authorities and we were told that while Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif would not be welcome to tour England the case is different for Aamir,” he said.

He said the PCB had prepared a separate case for Aamir while sending his documents for the visa to the UK High Commission in Islamabad.

Along with former captain Salman Butt and fellow pacer Muhammad Asif, Aamir was found guilty of spot-fixing by the ICC and later by a crown court in London during Pakistan’s tour to England in 2010.

Aamir made his international comeback in January in New Zealand after serving a five-year ban.

UK visa laws state that a foreign individual’s visa application will be denied for up to 10 years if the individual has served a jail sentence of one year to four years within the UK.

The official said that ECB’s top officials had been very cooperative in the matter.

“Aamir was not technically deported from the UK like Butt and Asif in the spot-fixing case,” he added.

The official said the Board only decided to apply for a visa for Aamir after legal consultations. He said if Aamir got the visa he would undergo a special course to prepare him for the long tour starting in late June.

“He will be given a full briefing on what to expect in England and how to avoid controversies in the media or on the field,” the official said.

The official confirmed that the move to appoint Englishman Brian Murgatroyd as the media manager with the Pakistan team for the tour had not been successful.

“We are now looking at other options as we know how important it will be to properly interact with the media and avoid controversies or scandals on the tour,” he added.