KARACHI: Pakistan cricket was plunged into deeper turmoil when the country’s cricket board barred former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan from national duty besides taking stern action against five other team members.
Acting on ‘recommendations’ made by a probe panel, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) imposed one-year bans on former skipper Shoaib Malik and seasoned allrounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. The duo was also fined Rs2 million each after being identified among the main culprits behind Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia.
Shahid Afridi was handed a fine of Rs3 million for ball tampering and will be under probation for six months while Kamran Akmal and his younger brother Umar were also slapped with similar penalties. The Akmal brothers were punished for making trouble after the Sydney Test which Pakistan lost from a seemingly winning position. Kamran has been asked to pay a fine of Rs3 million while Umar has been handed a fine of Rs2 million.
“For the shameful act of Shahid Khan Afridi, which has brought the game and country into disrepute, he be fined rupees three million. A warning be issued to him by the Chairman PCB and he be put on probation for 06 months, during which his conduct be strictly monitored,” said the statement.
Afridi was banned for two Twenty20 Internationals after he was caught chewing the ball by TV cameras during the fifth One-day International against Australia in Perth.
Just hours after making the announcements, the PCB backtracked on its decision against Yousuf and Younis, saying that the two players can be selected for Pakistan “as and when the PCB deems appropriate”.
Earlier in the morning, the PCB had announced what sounded like shockingly harsh life bans for the two senior players
“Mohammed Yousuf and Younis Khan keeping in view their infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team, their attitude had a trickledown effect which is a bad influence for the whole team, should not be part of national team in any format,” said a PCB statement.
However, later in the evening, the PCB made it clear it hasn’t banned the duo, adding that the two players have just been suspended indefinitely.
Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said that the Board announcement was misinterpreted adding that Yousuf and Younis could be considered for national duty in future.
He added that the players have the right to appeal against the punishments handed by the Board.
The recommendations were made by an inquiry committee that was headed by PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari and included governing board member Wazir Ali Khoja, director of cricket operations Zakir Khan, team manager Yawar Saeed and lawyer Taffazul Rizvi.
“The recommendations of the inquiry committee have been accepted by PCB in totality,” said the PCB statement.
“The recommendations will go a long way to arrest the continuing decline in Pakistan cricket,” it added.
However, the committee’s credibility was questioned again on Wednesday by experts and former greats.
“All of its members are working for the PCB so where is the neutrality,” asked Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain.
Rashid Latif, another ex-skipper, said that the players will get relief from court. “I’m sure that the players will contest these bans and win cases in court against the PCB,” he said.
The committee began its proceedings soon after the team’s return from Australia last month and heard the players and team officials — coach Intikhab Alam, assistant coach Aaqib Javed, the then manager Abdul Raqeeb, physiotherapist Faisal Hayat and analyst Mohammad Talha during a series of meetings at the PCB headquarters in Lahore.
The probe panel also reviewed reports filed by Raqeeb and Intikhab related to last year’s tours to the United Arab Emirates for a one-day series against New Zealand, Pakistan’s Test series in New Zealand and the catastrophic tour of Australia where the team was routed 3-0 in the Test series and 5-0 in the one-day series.
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