Shaheen unhappy after getting 'dropped' during LPL match

He was about to return home from the league

KARACHI:

Controversies continue in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) as Pakistan T20I captain Shaheen Afridi has lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Unit after being “dropped” during a match.

The upset Pakistani fast bowler was about to return home, but franchise officials and organizers apologized and persuaded him to stay.

Even before the start of the League, the Indian owner of Jaffna Kings, Manjot Karla, was arrested by Sri Lanka’s Special Investigation Unit on allegations of fixing. The organizers later revoked the team’s ownership rights, and organising company and Sri Lanka Cricket is now managing the situation.

Recently, a strange incident involving Shaheen Afridi also came to light. Sources say that the Kandy Royals team management informed the Pakistani pacer before a match against Colombo Capitals that he would participate as an “impact player.”

This rule, introduced in the IPL, allows a team to nominate a player before the match who can replace another player and either bat or bowl up to four overs. The replaced player cannot take further part in the match.

In the said match, Kandy batted first. During the middle of the innings, the coach apologized to Shaheen, saying that due to an analyst’s mistake, his name had not been included as the “impact player.” The pacer was surprised and reported the matter to an Anti-Corruption Unit official.

Shaheen immediately decided to return to Pakistan, and the issue came to the attention of the match referee. Later, team management and league organizers apologized and convinced him to stay.

In his team’s first match of the event, Shaheen took 1 wicket for 41 runs. After the incident, he took 2 wickets for 34 runs in the second match and 1 wicket for 32 runs in the third. He did not participate in the most recent match.

It is worth noting that Pakistani cricketers Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Wasim Jr., and Aaqib Javed are also participating in the event, while umpire Asif Yaqoob has been appointed as well.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the LPL said that the issue with Shaheen Afridi occurred due to the submission of an incorrect team sheet to the referee.