Shoaib Malik free from charges
As speculated, the appeal by Shoaib Malik against the punishment given to him by the PCB has been revoked in partial terms. An independent arbitration tribunal has ‘partially accepted’ his appeal. The official details have not yet been disclosed but it’s expected that the one year ban will be lifted while the Rs. 2 million penalty will be halved.
Iqbal Qadir, the arbitrator in the proceeding stated, “The board’s legal advisor has reported to me that after monitoring Malik in the last three months they feel he has improved his behaviour and attitude.” He also added, “I have decided to uphold his appeal and lift the ban as the purpose of disciplinary action against players was to make them rethink about their careers.”
The Malik family felt much assured and comforted when the proceeding concluded, the appeal was in order to clear his name from doubt, not just against the decisions.
After the proceedings ended, PCB's legal advocate Talib Rizvi spoke to the media and said, “His appeal has been partially accepted. The ban has been lifted and his fine has been halved. The board has the right to review the decision but as of now he is eligible to play for Pakistan again.”
Ironically, the charges against Malik were never brought out from the inquiry committee but it’s thought that they were in relation to a number of management officials along with Malik’s negative impact on the players. These allegations were confirmed to a large extent when a video was leaked from the inquiry committee’s meeting who were questioning Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf. Both players were seen giving statements against Malik.
Qadir, who is also a former judge, will present his findings to the PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt. He will then have a meeting with the board of governors and the charges will be drafted. Butt told in an official statement, “We’re going according to our constitution which says an appeal can be filed in such cases. I will now receive the report from the arbitrator and then put it up in front of the board of governors for their approval.”
While the PCB Chairman failed to give any further explanations, he did admit that the path for Malik’s comeback was now clear. Earlier Malik’s name also popped up on the 35- player list out of which the Pakistan squad for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the tour of England will be decided. Whatever the case may be, Shoaib Malik is not expected to be picked in the 15 man squad for the Asia Cup.
This verdict will now lead to a reduction in penalties of other players such as Younis Khan as well. The mood is already being setup by Butt who is starting to complement Khan on every move Younis makes. Khan’s hearing was to take instantly after Malik’s inquiry but it has been postponed till the 5th of June.
It’s predicted that this development will now lead to the axing of fines and charges from the rest of the players. They include Afridi, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and the brothers Kamran and Umar Akmal. The hearing of Rana Naveed is scheduled to be held on the 19th of June while no dates have been scheduled for Afridi and the Akmals.
But the question is, when will the stars play international cricket once again? Secondly, what will their reaction and attitude be towards each other. PCB states that the current manager of the Pakistani team Yawar Saeed and other senior officials have been granted a lot of power to curb such incidents from happening in the future.
Butt explained, “I have instructed the team manager and other officials including the captain that any act of indiscipline, any such problem, and they have my full backing in immediately sending a player back.” He then added, “They need not even refer the case to me, they can send the player back immediately as they will have full authority to do so.”
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