A group of former Pakistan cricketers have returned from Zambia after featuring in an unsanctioned Twenty20 league, where they reportedly failed to receive full payment and now face a two-year ban from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Key Moments
Because of the non-payment and then had further difficulties at the airport, the player told Telecom Asia Network on the condition of anonymity that he had been surprised by the agents who had told him the League was approved by ZCU and that he would receive a good amount of money, but he did suffer embarrassment since the hotel would not let him settle into a room.
Player and Team Performance
The players went to Lusaka in order to take part in the Asian Legends League, a tournament that was promoted last month and which included among its featured names the former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez, wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Sohail Tanvir; although Ambati Rayudu from India was originally going to take part in the league he withdrew from Zambia without playing after finding out that the tournament had not been sanctioned. The player stated that the cricketers had come back without receiving the financial rewards they had hoped for and were now having to undergo a serious punishment. The sources state that the injured players intend to go together to Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the PCB, and ask for clemency, on the grounds that cricket is still their main source of income and that a two-year ban could have serious financial repercussions.
The source said that players such as Hafeez, Akmal, Tanvir and Zahid Mahmood asked about the League, and after finding out that it had not been sanctioned by the Zambia Cricket Union (ZCU), since ZCU had then issued a statement making it clear that the league received no sanction, approval or endorsement, some players including India’s Ambati Rayudu decided to leave without taking part. A player acknowledged that it had been a mistake to take part in the tournament and said that the group had been misled by agents. “The situation is a blow for all the players since they had gone there in order to earn some good money which they haven’t obtained, but what they have received instead is a severe punishment from the Pakistan Cricket Board,” the player said.
Tamim Iqbal, who was previously captain of Bangladesh, has been named chairman of the committee.
