So the time has come at last for Pakistan Cricket Board and the national selectors to make one of the biggest decisions ever faced by them in the history of our cricket: Should they pick for the national team one or two or all three of the convicted and consequently banned cricketers once they become available for selection on September 1, 2015?

It is a tough call to pick from among Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. The views among the public range from the caustic to the forgiving. There is a point of view that they should never be picked for the terrible deed they did and for the shame they brought to the country. That view feels they were all grown up, even Amir, to know what they were doing and which side of the fence their act stood.

The other view feels they have served their sentences and for Amir especially there is hope that he can bring back the firepower that has been recently missing from our opening attack.

There is less or almost no sympathy for Butt and Asif. Perhaps because Butt was quite a senior player and in fact was the captain who allegedly induced Amir to bowl the no ball. His self defense that threw ire at everyone accusing him led to severe anger among the public when evidence mounted against him and especially when he accepted that he was in fact guilty of the crime. Butt may privately declare that he later admitted to all only to be rehabilitated into the game but publicly he has no choice but to accept. And that is what reaches the majority of people.

Asif is probably is as worse off as Butt. There the public feel that he had already been given too many chances. They recall that he was caught at Dubai airport with a banned substance and that PCB bent backwards to get him out of detention by the UAE authorities. Besides that he was recalled from the 2006 Champions Trophy in India alongwith Shoaib Akhtar after testing positive for drugs and though then PCB Chairman Naseem Ashraf arranged for circumstances that eventually exonerated the duo, the perception was that they were in fact guilty.

Since the effect of the drugs remain in the bloodstream for six months both were suspiciously omitted from the squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup citing injuries. It was felt that they had let down their country by acting irresponsibly. As such Asif is already an unpopular figure among both the public and the authorities and therefore unlikely to be considered. There is also a big question mark that given he is on the wrong side of 30, the impact of not bowling for five years will probably have eaten up his physical prowess of bowling long spells.

The man who bowled the first maiden in the 2007 World Twenty20 can possibly bring about enough energy to play the shorter format but again, PCB may not burn their hands by backing him. Same seems the case for Butt, unless the former captain and opener can get some strong connections to push him into the side.

As such it is Amir who is more likely to feature again despite a big segment of former cricketers feeling that he should never be allowed to don the green cap again. They have a point. Yes he has served his sentence and the law states that once a person has completed his punishment he should be allowed to carry on his trade providing it is legal. But it is what will happen when he plays for Pakistan again that troubles them.

For instance the players who play alongside him may think that it’s okay to take a risk; that if you’re caught there is always a chance to come back once you’ve completed your period out of the game. There is also the fear that foreign commentators will always bring up the discussion of who he has been whenever Pakistan takes the field. That will distract from the Pakistan team and any positivity in their performance. And God help us if he bowls a no ball which he eventually will at some point in time.

The coming Twenty20 tournament at home is going to be the litmus test; how does the crowd react when one or more from among Amir, Asif and Butt take the field. Is there booing or clapping? Is there taunting from the crowd when one of them bowls or bats or applause if one of them takes a wicket or scores a boundary.

As thing stand now Pakistan needs one good fast bowler and Amir is the frontrunner with PCB’s clear blessing. To balance affairs PCB might overtly show their displeasure at Asif and not pick him for any of the teams or send out signals that they are no more interested in him.

It is therefore going to be of great interest how they react to the return of Butt who it is said will turn out for one of the Lahore sides. Though there is little chance of him getting back to the Pakistan team immediately, what will put the selectors and PCB into a quandary is if he scores some runs. But with Mukhtar having impressed more often than not in T20 Internationals, Azhar Ali having reinvented himself as an ODI opener, Hafeez doing well as a Test opener and Ahmed Shahzad entrenched as opener in all formats, it seems unlikely that Butt will break through this season at least.

It is Amir therefore who will be in everyone’s eye and despite antagonism toward him by some former players a more likely bet to play for Pakistan before the season is out.