Cricket
oh-Gaurav Sharma
The Pakistan Cricket Board has launched an internal disciplinary investigation into allegations of player misconduct following reports of disciplinary issues.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has launched an internal investigation following reports of disciplinary violations.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has launched an internal disciplinary investigation into allegations of player misconduct following media reports and back-to-back Test defeats to England, resulting in seven players being dropped from the squad.
Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman Amir Mir confirmed a disciplinary hearing had begun but declined to comment on the allegations.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board has launched an internal disciplinary investigation following media reports of player discipline issues which are being looked into internally,” he said.
Mir said the PCB acted in accordance with its rules and that those involved in the alleged misconduct will be dealt with accordingly.
Pakistan Cricket Board opens disciplinary hearing into players’ conduct and discipline
Seven players dropped after successive Test defeats to England
Pakistan’s tour of England started poorly with successive Test defeats to their rivals, starting with an innings and 103-run defeat in the first match at Trent Bridge, followed by a 194-run defeat at Lord’s. As a result, seven players were dropped from the squad for the third Test, while head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also sacked.
Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Imam-ul-Haq, Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Aamir Jamal and Muhammad Awais Zafar were released while Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal, Razaullah Khan, Mohammad Imran, Arafat Minhas, Saad Baig and Mohammad Imran Jr. were named as replacement players.
Imam-ul-Haq’s injury is under review
Following his absence from the third Test team, PCB’s high performance director Aaqib Javed raised questions over Imam-ul-Haq’s calf injury, which ruled him out of the second Test at Lord’s. The opening batsman suffered a grade II sprain and was forced to miss both innings at Lord’s, with Javed stating that “it’s a big question mark regarding his injury”.
“There is no doubt that he will now be under the microscope,” Javed added, while defending the PCB’s decision to make a number of changes to the squad. “They need to step up their game overseas and if they don’t give 100 percent then that creates problems.”
Security speculation
Meanwhile, there were rumors that the PCB had seized the mobile phones of some Pakistani players following the poor start to the Test series in England, although the board refused to confirm the allegations. The controversy has even been compared to the infamous 2010 match-fixing scandal at Lord’s, where Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed for their involvement in match-fixing of a Test match against England.
“There are widespread speculations that some players had their cell phones taken away by the Pakistan Cricket Board during the recent tour of England following criticism of their performances,” the PCB said in a statement. “The Pakistan Cricket Board strongly discourages accepting unfounded allegations and gossip on social media as truth, especially when it comes from certain sections of the media and other quarters that are not entirely friendly to Pakistan.”