Pakistan have added two newcomers to its squad for the five one-day internationals against England, after the tainted trio were suspended pending a spot-fixing investigation.

“Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Irfan will join the team for the one-day series as we have decided to keep the squad of 15,” Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi told AFP from Taunton, England.

The trio of Butt, Aamer and Asif along with four other Pakistani players were accused in a British Sunday tabloid sting of being part of a plan to deliberately bowl no-balls during the team’s fourth Test against England at Lord’s.

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Pakistan lashed out at the ICC for suspending three of its players facing ‘spot-fixing’ charges and blamed ICC President Sharad Pawar for the suspension.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, threatened to sue the ICC for its unethical decision of suspending the players and said it was trying to make Pakistan a “scapegoat” for its inefficiency.

“The three players requested me to ask the PCB not to consider them for the rest of the series because they wanted to clear their name and honor. I conveyed their request to PCB chief Ijaz Butt who accepted it but all of a sudden the ICC came out with the notice,” he said.

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The trio, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who has been alleged in the spot fixing controversy are dropped from the limited over leg of the England tour, as told by the team manager Yawar Saeed. The players are not suspended, he added.

The three players are currently in London, where they are due to meet Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK. The PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, is expected to be at that meeting.

Speaking in Taunton, where the Pakistan team are to play a warm-up match later on Thursday, Saeed said he had taken the decision, and also called for three replacements. “The T20 squad will remain what it is here this morning, i.e. 13 people,” Saeed said. “When we play the one-day internationals we will be asking for replacements to make the squad up to 16.”

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Globetrotting Cape Town-based duo, Locnville, will perform at the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 opening concert on September 9 at Emmarentia Botanic Gardens here.

The identical twin brothers, Andrew and Brian Chaplin, who have become household favourites, following the release of their first single ‘Sun in my Pocket’, will perform as support to Spanish music sensation Enrique Iglesias in the ‘Enrique Live’ Concert, an event which will formally inaugurate the League that gets underway a day later at the Wanderers Stadium.

“This is great news for the fans. Locnville have been playing to sell out audiences across the world, and we are delighted that they are part of the Airtel CLT20 opening concert,” CLT20 Governing Council member Gerald Majola said.

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The National Selection Panel of Australia names the 15-men squad for the upcoming test series against India starting in October.

“While the excitement builds for the forthcoming Ashes, the immediate focus for this squad is the Test series against India,” NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch told reporters.

“India is ranked number one in Test cricket and there is no harder assignment in Test cricket at the moment than playing India on their home soil. The Australian squad is really looking forward to the challenge.”

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The three Pakistan cricketers should face a life ban if they are found guilty of being involved in a betting scam, Australian leg-spin great Shane Warne said on Thursday.

Captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif have been summoned to London to meet the Pakistan Cricket Board chief and the country’s ambassador to Britain.

Britain’s News of the World newspaper has alleged that several Pakistan players were part of a scam to bowl deliberate no-balls at precise points in last week’s Test match against England.

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International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat on Tuesday said the governing body will take action against the players found guilty in the ‘spot-fixing’ scam before they take to the field in the current tour of England.

“We are working to gather evidence with the Police and the United Kingdom. We are very determined to bring to book any perpetrator or any player found to be corrupt,” Lorgat said.

“But this is a moving hour. It is a difficult process. These are allegations that have been labelled and charges which are serious ones.

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PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has ruled out suspending of any Pakistani player involved in the spot fixing allegation before the start of T20I and ODI series. He said for such an action we need some solid evidence.

“There is a case going on over here with the Scotland Yard,” Ijaz was quoted as saying by cricinfo. “This is only an allegation. There is still no charge or proof on that account. So at this stage there will be no action taken.”

Butt’s decision implies that the tainted player will take on field for the ODI and T20I matches to be played starting September 5, 2010.

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Top officials of ICC and PCB are understood to be considering suspending four Pakistan players including captain Salman Butt from the rest of the England tour in the wake of the match fixing scandal, a media report said.

The move came even as ICC president Sharad Pawar said the world’s cricket governing body will take “ruthless actions” if any player is found guilty in the scandal in the Lord’s Test match.

The officials of the International Cricket Council and the Pakistan Cricket Board are understood to be considering short-term measures against the accused Pakistan players and this includes suspending trio Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif, Kamran Akmal and captain Salman Butt from the rest of their tour of England, Daily Mail reported on its “Mail Online” service.

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