Lifetime ban for tainted cricketers, if found guilty: Pak High Commissioner

London, Sep.5 : 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.