You didn't know what *** was when you were 18? ITSTL
The no ball was not all he may have done, it was done simply to prove to the 'client' (reporter) that Mazhar Majeed had influence and control over the players. He may have underperformed prior to this, or even more after if he hadn't been exposed.
Not only that, the guy clearly tried all ways and means to squirm his way out of this entire incident, lying outright about his involvement. What makes you think he genuinely felt that his actions were wrong if he doesn't even want to accept his wrongdoings? Pleading guilty after he had basically no option remaining doesn't do jack**** in convincing me that he feels remorse.
If he wasn't such a talented bastard no one would give a ****. 5 years is lenient enough, he can still make a comeback after that period and his career isn't entirely over. I understand that he's young and naive due to the culture that he was brought up in, which is why he has been given that chance to make a come back provided he works hard enough on his own.
Theres a reason why ignorance is never an accepted excuse, and I'm sure you know what that reason is. The effect that a severe ban will have on the trio is valuable to cricket as a whole, young players in the future won't take the risk of losing their entire career for money as opposed to losing out just a few years if they can simply feign ignorance.
Again, we are talking from our viewpoints, which in doubt has been shaped by the society we have been brought up in, or live in at the moment. We are judging him by the values we are accustomed to.
See in Saudi Arabia, if you hug a woman, you might lose your hand, if not your head. You might scream bloody rubbish, but that's the law. Of course, if ever you get caught smoking weed, you can say goodbye to your head. But somewhere else in the planet, it's taken as some sort of an achievement, or at best, scoffed at.
So it all differs. Value systems aren't same the world across.
Now, ignorance isn't an excuse I know. But the perpetrators for spreading or maintaing such ignorance isn't kids like Amir, but a pathetic spineless administration which just didn't do it's job in educating it's players. We just cannot expect kids like him to be born into the world knowing all there that is. They need to be told, educated, what is right and what is wrong.