Mohammad Asif's five year ban from the ICC ended on 31 August 2015.
What tends to be overlooked is that to insure world cricket against further offending he had an additional two year suspended sentence, during which time if he re-offended he would be instantly re-banned, even before a hearing could take place.
The ICC's explicit expectation was that Asif and Butt would return from September 2015, but with the suspended sentence in place to keep them clean.
Clearly Asif will never return. It's a shame: last year he bowled QEA spells that no other Pakistani is capable of, notably against Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman in the Final.
Sure, his fitness was dodgy. But he was replaced by Sohail Khan who has a Second Innings Test bowling average of 100 due to his even worse fitness.
More to the point, the 7 Dukes ball Tests in England and the West Indies and the 5 Tests in Australia and New Zealand would have not just given him another 50 wickets, but also he would probably have converted the Tests at Edgbaston, Hamilton, Christchurch and Brisbane from defeats into victories.
Anyway, with effect from tomorrow, Mohammad Asif's final punishment will expire.
What tends to be overlooked is that to insure world cricket against further offending he had an additional two year suspended sentence, during which time if he re-offended he would be instantly re-banned, even before a hearing could take place.
The ICC's explicit expectation was that Asif and Butt would return from September 2015, but with the suspended sentence in place to keep them clean.
Clearly Asif will never return. It's a shame: last year he bowled QEA spells that no other Pakistani is capable of, notably against Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman in the Final.
Sure, his fitness was dodgy. But he was replaced by Sohail Khan who has a Second Innings Test bowling average of 100 due to his even worse fitness.
More to the point, the 7 Dukes ball Tests in England and the West Indies and the 5 Tests in Australia and New Zealand would have not just given him another 50 wickets, but also he would probably have converted the Tests at Edgbaston, Hamilton, Christchurch and Brisbane from defeats into victories.
Anyway, with effect from tomorrow, Mohammad Asif's final punishment will expire.
