Salman Butt ({Urdu:سلمان بٹ }, born 7 October 1984) is a former Pakistani cricketer and captain who played for Pakistan national cricket team between 2003 and 2010, before getting banned for five years for his involvement in 2010 spot-fixing scandal. He had been a regular Test and ODI left-handed opening batsman. He made his Test debut on 3 September 2003 in the third Test against Bangladesh, and a year later, made his ODI debut against West Indies on 22 September 2004. He was appointed captain of the Pakistan Test squad on 16 July 2010. He was known for his command in offside area. His noticeable performance was against India, registering 5 ODI centuries in 21 innings with an average of 52. On 29 August 2010, he was implicated in allegations of spot-fixing. On 31 August 2010, he was stripped of the Pakistan captaincy, and removed from the ODI squad pending criminal proceedings. He was banned from playing cricket for ten years, of which five years was a suspended sentence. In November 2011, he was convicted and jailed for 30 months for conspiracy charges relating to the spot-fixing, along with Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. On 21 June 2012, he was released from jail. In August 2015, bans on Butt and fellow conspirators Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were lifted by the International Cricket Council, allowing them to return to all forms of cricket from 2 September 2015. Personal life Butt was born in Lahore to Zulfikar Ali Butt, who runs a farming business, the eldest of three children and grew up in "relative luxury", described by his father as a "practising Muslim who prays five times a day." When Butt's father divorced his mother and left the home he had to bear the financial responsibilities of his sisters' higher education. He's an alumni of the Beaconhouse School System. His son Aaliyan Suleman is also a cricketer, in 2022 being named in the Central Punjab’s Whites Under-16 team. Cricket career Early career Butt started in the Under-17s and quickly progressed through Under-19 level, although at that time he was much younger than the age limits suggest, making his senior debut for Lahore Whites in 2000 aged only 15. His talent was noticed immediately, which led to him being given a place in the Pakistan A team against England soon after. However, instead of rushing straight for the limelight of international cricket,