ACSU to investigate Pakistan Cricket Board over Pakistan's tour to Australia
Pakistan cricket is never short of controversies, and the tour of Australia ending in January this year was no different. The tour was the worst tour by any test playing nation, where Pakistan lost all the 3 tests, 5 ODIS and the sole T20. After the tour there was a thorough investigation conducted by the board, which resulted in serious fines on 6 players.
Muhammd Yusuf who was the captain on that tour was banned for indefinite period, along with the man he replaced Younis Khan, while another former captain Shoaib Malik was suspended for a year. All rounder Rana Naved Ul Hassan was also suspended for a year, while Akmal brothers Umar and Kamran were Handed down cash penalties worth Millions, and Shahid Afridi the new T0 captain was fined around 3 million rupees for chewing the ball and tarnishing Pakistan’s Image.
But the actual reasons for all these punishments were never made public, and the media and the fans were left to speculate as to what actually happened. Nearly a month or so later the documents of the investigation committee were leaked, and just couple of day ago the official recorded Video statements have also made their way to tv screens of almost all the news channels in Pakistan.
The leakage of these documents and videotapes has prompted the Anti Corruption Unit of ICC known as ACSU to look further into the tour. The mandate of this probe is to make sure that it was only the disharmony among the team, which lead to a disastrous tour, or was there some foul play involved.
Paul Condon, chief of ACSU said that, the unit is investigating the tour, in collaboration with the Pakistan cricket board. Condon was reported commenting at a press conference in Lords that the documents and the video footage of the investigation points towards serious infighting in the team but there may be something serious going on.
Condon said: "There has been an ongoing investigation since the time, because it is a series that worried us," Condon also said. "We spent a lot of time talking to the players and the PCB but part of the challenge is to find where the solid fact is, because what you've got there is a lot of internecine strife within the team and within Pakistan politics, with rival camps making allegations”.
"We are satisfied that that was a totally dysfunctional tour from a Pakistani point of view, and that dysfunctional in the dressing room led to players not performing well, and maybe making them potentially under perform deliberately. What we still need to establish is whether that was because rival camps wanted to do down captains or potential captains, or whether it was something more serious, doing it for a financial fix.
"We are working very closely with the PCB but at the moment it is a flurry of allegation, rather than any hard fact. The investigations at the time suggested it was more about a dysfunctional team, rather than match fixing. But it is a live inquiry."
The investigation comes as Pakistan cricket is looking to recover from another shocking defeat, but this time it was not so bad if one looks at the bigger picture. Pakistan’s performance in the t20 world cup at the start was dismal, and fans had lost heart, but the way they played against South Africa and then against the Mighty Australians. It reassured the Nation that they have the passion and drive to play for their country, which was the reason that even after not making it to the final, the whole of Pakistan applauded their team, and gave them a big welcome as they made their way back, and Shahid Afridi’s captaincy though under the hammer at first, was later appreciated. There was a general consensus that Afridi had been able to reunite a disjointed bunch of players.
So this investigation may just be at the wrong time for Pakistan cricket, but on the flip side, may uncover some facts, which are still under the carpet, and unmask the ones who need to be taken to task.
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