Fact finding committee on Zulqarnain Haider debacle submits report
The fact-finding committee set-up by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to investigate the events leading to Zulqarnain Haider’s actions has submitted its report to the board. The committee unfortunately has failed to give any solid reasons behind Haider’s
frantic behaviour.
The three-man committee comprising of Subhan Ahmed (PCB, COO), national team manager Intikhab Alam and Khawaja Najam (security manager) has advised the PCB to write a letter to the runaway wicketkeeper, asking him to give the exact reasons behind his actions
so that the board can better understand the conditions which led him to dessert his team and escape to the United Kingdom in the middle of an ongoing series in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
The report concludes, “It is difficult to say with complete confidence at this stage as to what were the motives [behind the departure].”
The report which is based on conversations with Haider and the people associated with him, however highlights some facts, such as; that on his visit to England with the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team this summer, he wanted to know how to settle in the UK.
The report further reveals that none of the players in Dubai had any idea of Haider’s intentions, even Wahab Riaz with whom Haider was quite frank, had no idea what was cooking up inside the wicketkeeper’s mind.
The report claims that fellow batsman Younis Khan and assistant manager http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Alam-c89353 were the last people to have seen him leaving the team hotel on the morning of the fifth ODI.
The report confirmed that Haider had in fact taken his passport from the team manager for the purpose of buying a mobile phone SIM.
The wicketkeeper was of the view that he had for the first time received threats from a bookie two days before the fourth ODI. Haider maintained that he had never seen the man before and was unable to recognize him. The report states,
“When he was walking in the parking area of the hotel, he met a person who said to him he must do what he is told to do in cricket else he and his family would be killed. He didn't recognize the person who had met him 2 days before the fourth ODI. He didn't
see the person or hear from him afterwards."
The report questions Haider’s judgement as to why he chose to runway from the UAE to the UK, which seemingly is less secure than the Arab state. The report has also reflected its dissatisfaction over the player’s decision of choosing
not to inform the touring management about the threats that he was receiving.
The wicketkeeper is currently seeking asylum in the UK for which he has hired a lawyer to plead his case in front of the British Government.
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