Suspended Pakistani Test captain Salman Butt's lawyers are likely to raise the case of Suresh Raina when their client's appeal in the spot fixing case comes up for hearing at the International Cricket Council's headquarters in Dubai this weekend.

Last week, Raina was in the eye of a storm when London's Sunday Times reported that he was seen with a woman who was suspected to have had links to bookies on the recent tour of Sri Lanka. The Indian and Sri Lankan boards were quick to get into denial mode. BCCI secretary N Srinivasan stressed that the woman was Raina's agent.

Why us?
"If Suresh Raina can get away with the allegations and that too by a reputed newspaper in London, then why are only Pakistan players targetted," asked one of Butt's lawyers.u00a0 "There is no direct evidence in this case and charges on circumstantial evidence are not admissible in the court of law," said a source close to the suspended Pakistan captain. Butt has also hired the former federal law minister, Dr Khalid Ranjha, along with former Test player Aftab Gul to be part of his legal crew.

The purpose of the hearing is not to decide whether the players (Butt, Mohd Amir and Mohd Asif) are guilty, but whether they should be allowed to play while ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit investigates the charges against them.

Asif, implicated in the saga of deliberately delivering the no-balls in the Lord's Test against England will not be present as he has withdrawn his appeal.