PCB withdraws suspected Trio from England tour
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board has withdrawn the trio of Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt amid contrasting reports emanating from London which suggest that players withdrew from the team themselves citing intense pressure as the reason for their decision on the eve of the T20 and One Day Series.
The three players are set to be replaced by a trio from Pakistan in the ODI series, while the 13 remaining players, who are in Taunton playing Somerset in a practice game, are going to take part in the two match T20 series that will take place in Cardiff on the 5th and 7th of this month.
The decision to withdraw the players was announced by team manager Yawar Saeed on the eve of the match in Taunton. A couple of hours later the Pakistan High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsi announced that the players had themselves pulled out of the remainder of the series, and that the Board as well as the High Commission was backing them and maintains that they are innocent until proven guilty.
Wajid Shamsi addressed a crowded press conference outside his office in London as media from all over converged to catch a glimpse of the guilty party and then to cover the brief session that was held after an hour long meeting which was not attended by the Chairman of the PCB, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128.
Many critics were shocked by the absence of the Chairman and wondered what could have been more important than meeting the players and the High Commissioner at this critical stage. The meeting was held to chalk out a strategy and a response to the damning allegations of match and spot fixing levelled against the players.
However the beleaguered players found support from the High Commissioner who claimed that the players had pleaded their innocence and claimed that they were upright young men who were stars of the international game.
He added that the players including the 18 year old pace sensation, Mohammad Amir, had a bright future ahead of them and it was the responsibility of the High Commission to protect them until they are proven guilty in one of the biggest sporting scandals in recent memory.
Later, in another eventful day, the Director Media PCB, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Scotland-c756 Yard police and they might not be in the right frame of mind to concentrate on the tough assignment.
The press release also stated that the set of players in Taunton were to feature in the two match T20 series.
Just before the start of the match in Taunton the Pakistani management had more bad news in store for them as batsman Umar Akmal received a blow on his nose while batting in the nets and was ruled out of the warm-up tie.
It remains to be seen if he can recover in time for the T20 series in Wales that promises to gather more media attention than usual following of the dramatic events of last week, ever since the damning scandal broke out on the penultimate day of Pakistan’s meek capitulation in the fourth and final test at Lords.
The outcome of the Scotland Yard probe is still awaited, on the other hand if it turns out to be a scam then one thing is for sure the English media has succeeded in putting a blot on the careers of the three men, especially youngster Mohammad Amir who was being touted as the next best thing since the legendary http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292.
Tags: