Pakistan's suspended Test captain Salman Butt is facing a seven-year ban while his teammates Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir could escape with two-year bans after next month's hearing of the ICC anti-corruption tribunal in Doha. A well-placed source said Butt was likely to be banned and slapped with a heavy financial penalty. "The way things are going for him the frequent change of lawyers and his abrasive relationship with the ICC, he does not appear to be in a position to plead his case effectively against the allegations against him," the source said.

"And apparently the ICC ACU have prepared a long list of evidences against him based on the fact that he was captain and responsible for the conduct of the team," the source said. The source said the fact that Butt was captain would entail the longest ban on him.

"As far as Asif and Aamir are concerned, they are likely to escape with shorter bans of around two years each for their role in the spot-fixing allegations," the source said. "These two pace bowlers are in a position to plead that they were ordered by their captain to do what they did and apparently they are being more cooperative and have a better relationship with the ICC ACU," the source said.

The source said the ICC had been given plenty of evidence and extended video footage of interviews with Pakistani bookmaker Mazhar Majeed by the 'News of the World' tabloid which first broke the story that implicated the three players in the spot-fixing allegations.