Pakistani cricketer who beat his wife with his bat, forced her to drink bleach and called her friends ‘English slag girls’ is SPARED jail after a judge says his victim is ‘an intelligent woman and not vulnerable’

• Mustafa Bahir, 34, battered wife with bat and squeezed her neck during abuse
• Was offered contract with former champions Leicester – if he didn’t go to prison
• Judge said he didn’t believe victim, Fakhara Karim, 33, was a vulnerable person
• Pakistani cricketer was freed and is now set to join Leicester as a professional

A Pakistani cricketer who beat his wife with his own bat and forced her to drink bleach while urging her to kill herself is set to join a top British club after being spared jail.

Mustafa Bashir, 34, hit his hotel receptionist wife with his own bat during a jealous outburst, then warned her: ‘If I hit you with this bat with my full power then you would be dead.’

During another furious attack, he held Fakhara Karim, 33, by the neck, poured bleach down her throat and forced her to take tablets while ordering to kill herself.

She told the court how her confidence was crushed by her jealous lover, who berated her for wearing westernised clothes and called her friends ‘English slag girls’.

But Bashir was spared jail at Manchester Crown Court, where the judge decided that he did not pass the custody threshold because his wife was not a vulnerable person.

He is now set to join former county champions Leicestershire as a professional player after being offered a contract just before his arrest, on the condition that he was not jailed.