Islamabad, Feb 1 (Inditop.com) A parliamentary panel has summoned officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Wednesday to explain the circumstances under which the country’s players were ignored at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction last week.
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports will question PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Wasim Bari on the IPL fiasco in which none of the 11 Pakistani players on offer found any takers.
This apart, the officials, as also Pakistani team coach Intikhab Alam, will have to explain the 0-3 loss to Australia in the Test series and the 0-5 loss in the just-concluded One-day International series.
The two Twenty20 match ban handed to stand-in captain Shahid Afridi for ball tampering in fifth ODI at Perth will also come in for discussions, with PCB director general Javed Miandad being summoned “to know the reasons and problems which the legendary batsman (Afridi) is facing besides hurdles in PCB”, Online news agency reported.
The standing committee had taken “belligerent notice of Pakistan’s pathetic defeat at the hands of Australia both in Tests and ODI’s besides Pakistani superstars being ignored for the cash rich IPL”, the agency added.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Sunday banned Afridi for two Twenty20 matches.
Afridi, who was leading the side in the final ODI in the absence of an injured Mohammad Yousuf, was caught by TV cameras appearing to chew on one side of the white ball, shortly before the umpires changed it at the end of the 45th over.
Afridi admitted the charge, after which match referee Ranjan Madugalle slapped the ban.