Pakistan high commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan has confirmed that Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have asked to be left out of the rest of the tour of England, following recent betting allegations.
Test captain Butt and seamers Asif and Amir have come under fire following news paper reports linking the latter two with delivering deliberate no-balls during the fourth Test match against England at Lord's.
Mr Hasan told reporters: "The three players have said that they are extremely disturbed by what has happened in the past week, especially in regard of their alleged involvement in the crime.
"They mentioned that they are entirely innocent in the whole episode and shall defend their innocence as such.
"They maintain that on account of the mental torture which has deeply affected them, they are not in the right frame of mind to play the remaining matches.
"Therefore, they have requested that the Pakistan Cricket Board not consider them for the remaining matches."
ECB chairman Giles Clarke had earlier welcomed the decision of the PCB to omit the three players from the upcoming T20 and one-day international fixtures.
He said in a statement: "The England and Wales Cricket Board welcomes the announcement of the Pakistan Cricket Board's squad for the NatWest T20 and NatWest ODI series.
"We look forward to an extremely competitive series full of excellent cricket and we can assure cricket fans across the country that the matches will be played in the most competitive spirit, long associated with contests between England and Pakistan."