Pak vs. SA, 5th ODI: Zulqarnain Haider abandons Pakistan team as PCB’s woeful run continues
Just when one thought it could not get worse for Pakistan cricket, it actually
did.
On the eve of the decisive ODI against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, the young wicketkeeper batsman Zulqarnain Haider, who is still feeling his way in international cricket, abandoned the team and left for England without informing the team management.
The word is that he was receiving threats from certain people who were unhappy about his match-winning performance in the fourth ODI that Pakistan won on the penultimate over of the match.
Zulqarnain had steered his team home to a sensational one-wicket win when they were seemingly down and out in the fourth match of what has been a riveting series.
He and fast bowler Wahab Riaz added 28 crucial runs in their 9th
wicket stand that took the men in green within 3 runs of a win, which was duly completed by Zulqarnain and last man Shoaib Akhtar.
His family claims that he was jubilant after playing the winning shot and had vowed to do more of the same in the last match, yet immediately afterwards he lost the plot after receiving threats from certain people.
His Facebook status was alarming; his latest update read (rather ominously):
“Leaving http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 cricket because get bad msg fr 1 man fr lose the match in last game.”
(Possibly decrypted as: I am going to leave Pakistan Cricket as some bad people are asking me to lose the – final? - match)
His statement was only noticed when news was broken about his sudden disappearance from the team on the morning of the decisive match.
As always, the PCB played down the incident at the start but soon had to face the music as they were plundered with questions from all quarters.
The Director Media http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nadeem-Sarwar-c78422 later confirmed on Pakistani TV channels that the player had indeed gone missing and the matter was reported to the Dubai police as well as the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.
What was surprising for many was the reaction of the PCB that went ahead and played the final match against South Africa when one of their playing members had gone missing! Zulqarnain was fined by the manager of the team Intikhab
Alam for a breach of discipline (specifically, breaking team curfew) a day earlier.
He was not the only one to pay the fine, as opening batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahzaib-Hasan-c2488 and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman were also fined for violating the team disciplinary code.
Many believe that there was a serious altercation between Zulqarnain and the team management which led to the shocking abandonment by the wicketkeeper.
The Lahore-born player has had a tough time in international cricket since his Test debut against England early in the year.
He scored a back to the wall 88 in his first Test, yet was sent home after picking a finger injury.
Upon his return, Zulqarnain told the media that he was fit and his injury was not serious enough for him to be sent back.
Even then he feared for his career, hinting that the team management and a certain group of players did not want him in the team and were keen on having Kamran Akmal as the lone wicketkeeper.
Kamran was axed from the tour of South Africa and Zulqarnain got the nod; however, the series was not a great one for him as he failed to deliver much with the bat and his keeping was also lacklustre in most matches.
The PCB, which now has another embarrassment to deal with, is presently mulling over its future course of action. In the meantime, the gloss has been taken away from one of the most enthralling ODI series in the history of the
game that saw three cliff-hangers.
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