Pakistan High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan has suggested lifetime ban from cricket for the three Pakistani cricketers accused of spot-fixing, if found guilty.
The trio--Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir--is being probed by police and the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Reacting to a report of the News of the World, Hasan said: "If the News of the World evidence is correct, then I would banish them from cricket."
The News of the World reported that the three men were facing a total of 23 charges.
Hasan, however, insisted the trio were "innocent until proven guilty". "That was my stance from day one and I still maintain it," he told a BBC Radio's sports related programme.
"We questioned them and all my colleagues that talked to them said that, yes, apparently they are innocent. But we're not police investigators - it's up to the police to find out if they're guilty," he stated.
Meanwhile, the paper has claimed that the ICC is investigating a fourth Pakistan cricketer.
The paper says the ICC is investigating an unnamed fourth man over match-fixing claims, a more serious charge than the spot-fixing claims faced by Butt, Asif and Amir.
The highest cricketing body, however, said it did not comment on ongoing investigations.
A spokesman said: "We are making no comment regarding the suggestion that the ICC is probing a fourth player.
"We do not comment on ongoing investigations, we will not revealing any details about the charges [faced by Butt, Asif and Amir]," added the ICC spokesman in a BBC report.
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