Pakistan Cricket Board finally responds to Haider's Rhetoric
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally responded to runaway wicketkeeper, Zulqarnain Haider’s rhetoric by making it clear to the former Pakistan player that the Board was willing to face any charges leveled by him.
Just a day ago, Haider had threatened to take legal action against the PCB for defamation of character. The player made the threat by posting a statement on his Facebook page. The statement said, "(I am) ready now 2 sue pcb about mental illness report and
on all inquiry peoples".
In the past, the wicketkeeper had made numerous statements by using the social networking website, but PCB never bothered to respond back. However, it seems that this time the temptation to give a reply to Haider was just too much for the members of the
cricket board to stay silent.
PCB’s legal advisor, Tafazzul Rizvi made it clear that the Board was all set to take on any challenge thrown at them by Haider. While talking to newsmen, he said, "The PCB is ready to defend any charges... After successfully defending the case, we will seek
damages from the wicket-keeper besides filing a defamation case against him".
It seems that the Board has made up its mind to put an end to Haider's threats, which have now become a weekly event. Speaking further on the matter, Rizvi said, "Initially, I was surprised to see Haider's message because he will be filing a case in a country
that he has deemed insecure for himself. Haider himself is a fugitive who broke discipline and put the team in trouble by fleeing. How can he file a case against the PCB".
Rizvi questioned the late timing of Haider's threats because the PCB's integrity committee had filed its report weeks ago, and Haider decided to pursue legal action regarding it now. Rizvi was pretty confident that the Board would succeed in defending the
case of the defamation and winning in a counter case against the player.
In all this confusion, one question remains- where is Haider going to get the money to pay his lawyers because, according to him, he has run out of cash and now wanted the PCB to release the 16,000 Pounds that it owes him. PCB previously made it very clear
that it will not be releasing any dues of the player until his (asylum) case was sorted out. This was a clear message to him that he should not be expecting any financial help from the Board.
Another high official of the PCB termed Haider's statements as attention seeking tricks. In the eyes of many people, perhaps, this might really be the case because it does appear that the player wants to remain in the news and using Facebook is serving his
purpose without using a single dime.
The official showed his utter confusion at the behavior of the player and said, "First, he says that he will announce the names of players he believed were involved in match-fixing and now this. Till now, all he has done is talk and not taken any action,
so we cannot take it seriously. Maybe these tactics will help him in his asylum case".
Ever since the Haider fiasco, the Board has stayed mum and chosen not to get in a war of words with the player, but things are changing now, and one can only wait what Haider has to say next.
Haider rose to fame when he deserted his national team in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757. After playing in the fourth ODI and helping his team clinch a victory, the young wicketkeeper disappeared on the morning of the fifth ODI.
Later he resurfaced in England and claimed to have received life threats from an apparent bookie who wanted him to lose the fourth and fifth match. Haider claimed that since his life was at threat, he had no other option but to run away.
After Haider's startling claims, the PCB tried making contact with him, but, initially, he was not interested. He, however, talked with International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit and made it evident that he was in no mood to return back to Pakistan.
Later, he started posting statements on his Facebook page and threatened to disclose the identities of the people involved in match-fixing in Pakistan. Though he hasn't disclosed any names as yet.
He then applied for asylum in the United Kingdom (UK), asserting that he could not disclose the names of the match-fixing culprits as long as his family was in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755. The lanky wicketkeeper has expressed his desire to unite with his family in UK.
Haider's story had a sensational start, but now the script seems to be running out of substance. If Haider wants to come out clean, the best thing for him to do is to disclose the names of the people involved in match-fixing.
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