Former Pakistan captain and match-fixing whistle-blower Rashid Latif has criticised former players and experts for backing the tainted trio of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt after the ICC announced the players would be eligible to return to the game after their ban ends on September 2.

The three players were banned in 2011 over a spot-fixing case which shook the cricket world when it was revealed by the now defunct British tabloid News of the World in August 2010.

Amir's five-year ban was relaxed in January this year after the ICC amended its anti-corruption code, which allowed him to play domestic cricket in Pakistan six months before his ban expired.

And the ICC, on Thursday, said both Asif and Butt had also completed their rehabilitation and now all three players were free to play domestic and international cricket.

But the former wicketkeeper Latif, who played 166 ODIs and 37 Tests for Pakistan, said the trio did not deserve a second chance.

“I will not support their comeback to international cricket simply because they will replace someone who might not be as talented as them but has done nothing ethnically or morally wrong and had not indulged in corruption,” Latif told PTI.

“This is the biggest injustice you can do to players who play clean cricket.”

Latif, who exposed corruption in the team in the 90s leading to the life bans on Salim Malik and Ata ur Rehman, said Pakistan should not repeat the same mistake.

“The way I look at this situation it is very wrong for that person to play again for Pakistan who has been involved in corruption and cheating. It is not right for those players who have played by the rules,” Latif said.

Left-handed batsman Butt is likely to play for Lahore Blues in the National Twenty20 starting early next month while Asif too has expressed an interest in return to the domestic scene.

Responding to the development, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan said he would wait for the written ICC decision on the the players before giving his reaction.