International Cricket Council (ICC) has provisionally suspended and charged three tainted Pakistan players under its anti-corruption code in the wake of the match-fixing scandal during the team’s tour of England.

A statement issued by ICC confirmed that Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir “have been officially notified of the offences they are alleged to have committed and have been provisionally suspended pending a decision on those charges.

“In accordance with the provisions of the code, this means they are immediately barred from participating in all cricket and related activities until the case has been concluded.”

The trio is now due to appear before the Scotland Yard detectives for further questioning today.

The players have a right to contest this provisional suspension and a further opportunity to defend these charges at a full hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal in accordance with Article 5 of the code, it noted.

The players have 14 days from their receipt of the charge sheet to indicate their desire for a hearing, the sport’s governing body said.

“We will not tolerate corruption in cricket,” ICC’s Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said, adding that “we must be decisive with such matters and if proven, these offences carry serious penalties up to a life ban.”

“The ICC will do everything possible to keep such conduct out of the game and we will stop at nothing to protect the sport’s integrity. While we believe the problem is not widespread, we must always be vigilant.”

The game’s integrity is of “paramount importance”, the ICC Chief Executive said.

“Prompt and decisive action will be taken against those who seek to harm it. However, the facts must first be established through a thorough investigation and it is important to respect the right of due process when addressing serious allegations of this sort,” he said.

“Make no mistake — once the process is complete, if any players are found to be guilty, the ICC will ensure that the appropriate punishment is handed out. We will not tolerate corruption in this great game.”

The alleged offences against Pakistani players, if proved, would involve the imposition of a ban on them. There is also a possibility, at the discretion of the independent tribunal, that a fine would be imposed in addition to a ban.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had announced that it was withdrawing the three players from the one-day series in England until the completion of the inquiry.

Scotland Yard to quiz Pak tainted trio today

The three Pakistani cricketers at the centre of spot-fixing allegations will be questioned by the Scotland Yard detectives on Friday.

This emerged after the tainted trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir were forced to withdraw from the one-day series against England in the face of intense pressure from the England and Wales Cricket Board and the ICC.

Their withdrawal was only secured after a round of intense negotiations on Wednesday night between the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman and the ECB and the ICC, a British daily reported.

Meanwhile, Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid S Hasan said, “I think we will go to the court of law to defend the players”.

After meeting the three at the Pakistan High Commission, Hasan defended the players and insisted that they remain innocent until proven guilty.

“We are extremely disturbed with what has happened in the past one week. They have maintained that they are innocent and on account of the mental torture that has hugely affected them, they are not in the right frame of mind to play any further,” Hasan told reporters in London.

“Therefore, they have requested the Pakistan Cricket Board not to consider them for the rest of the matches until their names are cleared,” he added.

Hasan also rejected reports that the players are due to be grilled by the Scotland Yard on Thursday and said the three would remain in England for the investigations.

“The investigations are on and we will have to wait for the reports. There are no meetings with the Scotland Yard today. They have voluntarily asked for their names not be included in the team. They will definitely remain in England,” he said.

Asked whether the passports of the three players had been confiscated by the Scotland Yard, Hasan said, “Their passports are with the team manager.”

Hasan said the players morale is low but they would not run away from the investigations.

“They are here, they are not running away. They are innocent and they are defending their innocence. They are upright young men, in fact one of them (Mohammad Aamir) created a record of taking 50 wickets in the shortest time. We will give them whatever support they might need,” he said.

“Serious charges have been levelled against them and they have to defend themselves. They will even go to court to for that. There have been such incidents in the past. You remember what happened between Imran Khan and Ian Botham, Imran won the case,” he added referring to a 1996 instance when Imran defended himself in a libel action brought by Botham and Allan Lamb over ball-tampering.

Asked to comment on the ‘News of the World’ sting operation on a bookie which started the furore and the photographs of the players with the alleged bookmaker, Hasan said, “I have seen many pictures. I have been a journalist all my life. So, I know what pictures mean.”