Shaheen lodges complaint against LPL franchise
Shaheen Afridi’s Test selection in doubt. Photo: PCB
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.
Later, a strange incident involving Shaheen also occurred recently. Sources say that the management of Kandy Royals informed the Pakistani pacer before a match against Colombo Caps that he would participate as an “impact player.”
This rule was introduced in the IPL, allowing a team to nominate a player before the match who can replace another player to bat or bowl up to four overs. However, once replaced, the original 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 submitted as the “impact player.”
The pacer was left surprised and reported the matter to the Anti-Corruption Unit. Shaheen immediately decided to return to Pakistan, and the issue was brought to the attention of the match referee.
Later, the team management and league organizers apologized to him and convinced him not to leave. In his team’s first match of the event, Shaheen took 1 wicket for 41 runs. After the incident, he claimed 2 wickets for 34 runs in the second match and 1 wicket for 32 runs in the third. However, he did not participate in the most recent match.
It is worth noting that other Pakistani cricketers participating in the event include Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Wasim Jr., and Aakif Javed. Umpire Asif Yaqoob has also been officiating in the league.