Hearing For Banned Cricketers Begins

The Pakistan Cricket Board was directed to provide all relevant records of banned and fined players to their lawyers as an arbitrator began his hearing into their cases Friday. “I have instructed the PCB to give the required material so that lawyers (of the players) come well prepared in the next hearing for arguments,” arbitrator Irfan Qadir told reporters.

The PCB imposed fines and bans on seven players after Pakistan’s woeful performance on a tour of Australia earlier this year.



Former captains Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and his younger brother Umar Akmal had filed appeals against bans and fines.

Mohammad Yousuf, who has retired from international cricket, did not appeal his indefinite ban.

Lawyers of three players ― Younis, Malik and Naved ― appeared before arbitrator Irfan Qadir on Friday and requested access to the relevant documents.

The PCB had fined Naved two million rupees ($23,500) and suspended him for one year for poor performance while Malik was handed similar punishment for indiscipline. Younis was indefinitely banned from representing Pakistan for alleged infighting with Yousuf.

Qadir said Younis requested an early date for the next hearing which will be held on May 8. Malik and Naved will reappear before the arbitrator on May 22.

Qadir said that Younis’ lawyer Mohammad Ahmed Qayyum also asked for the hearing to be open to the media, and that would be considered at the next hearing.

“I still feel my client’s hands are clean as he did nothing wrong,” Qayyum said.

“So far we don’t even know on what grounds PCB gave Younis such a punishment.”

Afridi and Akmal brothers are presently competing in the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies and their hearings will be held when they return home next month.

Afridi was fined three million rupees ($35,000) for ball tampering during the one-day international against Australia at Perth while the Akmal brothers were fined two million rupees ($23,500) for indiscipline.

Pakistan lost all its matches in Australia: three tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 game.