Wednesday 20 July 2011
Shoaib Malik, the former skipper of Pakistan’s cricket team, has been axed from the contention of Pakistan Cricket Board’s central contract list.
This decision was taken after the cricketer failed to sway PCB’s integrity committee about £ 90,000 missing from his account. The amount was present in Malik’s previous bank statements, but was not there in the latest statement submitted by the all-rounder.
A credible source within the PCB revealed that Malik was able to clear his name from every other allegation expect for the ambiguity surrounding this massive sum. Malik was unable to produce a satisfactory answer to where he spent the total.
The source claimed, “In Malik's case he has provided everything that was asked for by the integrity committee of the board except for the questions surrounding the fate of the 90,000 £. The integrity committee asked him where he had spent the amount but so far he has been unable to give a satisfactory reply.”
The source further revealed, “Malik has told the committee that he gave loans to some of his friends but was unable to give details of the persons he had given the amount to leaving the committee members not satisfied with his response.”
However, all is not lost for the 29-year-old all-rounder, as PCB has yet to finalize the list of contracted players.
PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, has been lenient in Malik’s case. In his recent interview, Butt declared that Malik could find a place in Pakistan’s national side if he clears this matter. The chairman is of the view, that thePakistan team is in dire need of experience and a player of Malik’s calibre would be beneficial for the side.
Butt further stated that he has had an informal meeting with the all-rounder and advised him to update the committee about the subject so he can be permitted to play for Pakistan.
PCB new central contracts list will have a fresh look to it as certain known names won’t be part of it. Amongst the most common faces missing would be Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar, as both cricketers have announced retirement from International cricket.
Wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and Dinesh Kaneria could also be shown the door by PCB. Akmal has been out of form for sometime, which caused him to lose his place in the playing XI. Kaneria on the other hand, failed to satisfy PCB’s integrity committee over the match fixing claims.
