PCB’s Investigative Committee Submits Report on Runaway Wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider
A three-member committee comprising of team manager Intikhab Alam, senior official Subhan Ahmed and security manager Major Najam Javed submitted its findings on the actions of wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider to the Pakistan Cricket
Board. The Pakistan Cricket Board has refused to make any comments regarding the findings of the committee.
Earlier this month, the Pakistan Cricket Board faced an embarrassing situation when its wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, who was playing in the national side in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033 against South Africa, disappeared under mysterious
circumstances before the fifth and final One-Day International match of the ODI series.
The team management was totally oblivious of Zulqarnain’s location, while everyone was puzzled about the whereabouts of the player; he re-emerged in England, declaring to have left the team for the sake of his security. Haider
told the press that he had been getting life threats from an unknown bookie. According to him, he was pressurised by the bookie to lose the final match.
Pakistan cricket was rattled by Haider’s revelations and the Pakistan Cricket Board ordered an inquiry into the matter. The main target of the inquiry was to look into the events that unfolded during Zulqarnain’s disappearance.
The main cause of concern for the board was how the player managed to get hands on his passport, which is supposed to remain with the team manager during a tour.
The International Cricket Council was also baffled by the whole scenario because the credibility of ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit was put into question, because the unit absolutely had no idea about the situation of Haider. The objective
of putting the Anti-Corruption Unit in the United Arab Emirates was to keep an eye on the touring teams (Pakistan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757). But Haider’s disappearance showed that the Unit was not up to the mark.
The team management also had to face a lot of criticism because it showed the loose grip of the management on the players and lack of total discipline.
Later, in England, the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit met the runaway wicketkeeper, where he told them that he was worried about the security of his family in Pakistan. Haider told the Anti-Corruption Unit that he could not go back
to Pakistan at the moment because the threats to his life were very serious.
After hearing Zulqarnain’s side of the story, the ICC has decided to wait for the findings of the Pakistan Cricket Board, before launching its own investigations.
Zulqarnain’s desertion has caused him to be the subject of criticism from many former and current cricketers, because there is a general perception that Haider’s actions were totally immature and he should have handled the situation
with more panache.
The thing that has been puzzling everyone is why Haider bypassed the International Cricket Council’s protocol regarding such a situation; according to the code of conduct he should have informed his team management and if he was
not comfortable with that then he should have talked to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit. But the player took a dramatic decision and shocked the world of cricket by disappearing and then appearing in another country to reveal that certain bookies were after
his life.
Although the Pakistan Cricket Board has made no announcements of making the findings of this committee public, one can hope that this report will help the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council in understanding
what really happened with Haider that led to his dramatic departure from International cricket.
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