Disgraced Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Aamer returned home early
Sunday after his release from a British prison, an AFP reporter said.
Aamer
was one of three Pakistan players jailed by a judge in London in
November over their roles in a plan to bowl deliberate no-balls during a
Test against England at Lord's in August 2010.
The 19-year-old
who is also serving a five-year ban imposed by the International Cricket
Council (ICC), was released from Portland Prison in Dorset, south-west
England on February 1.
Aamer arrived at Lahore airport from London
at 4:35 am local time (2300 GMT) and headed straight for his home in
the Defence Housing Authority neighbourhood without speaking to media,
an AFP reporter said.
Aamer's family members also refused to speak
to media. Television footage showed Aamer sitting in a white car as the
vehicle entered his residence.
His mentor Asif Bajwa said the teenager had made a mistake and served his term, but was now focused on returning to the sport.
"He
is in high spirits and I will meet him later Sunday and will decide the
future course of action, but he is keen to return to cricket," Bajwa
told AFP.
Bajwa said they would concentrate on rebuilding his tarnished image.
"Everyone
deserves a second chance and I have met a lot of people who believe
that Aamer should be given another chance," said Bajwa.
Bajwa said
he was unsure whether Aamer would file an appeal against the ICC ban in
the Court of Arbitration for Sports, based in Switzerland, but they had
hired a solicitor to help them decide.
Pakistan Cricket Board's chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed told AFP the PCB would start Aamer's rehabilitation "very soon".
Former
Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt was also sentenced to two and a half
years for being the "orchestrator" of the scam, while seamer Mohammad
Asif received a 12-month prison term for bowling a fraudulent no-ball.
The London-based sports agent Mazhar Majeed who organised the scam was jailed for two years and eight months.
Last
month, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf held out the
prospect of Aamer returning to international cricket once his jail term
and ICC ban had been completed.
Before the scandal, left-arm
paceman Aamer had made a huge impact with his on-field performances. He
took 51 wickets in 14 Tests, including seven at Leeds in 2010 as
Pakistan beat Australia for the first time in 15 years. AFP
