Cricket: Pakistan Blinds team cleared of wrongdoing

Commission blames poor conditions, absence of players for India losses.

KARACHI: Pakistan Blinds cricket team was cleared of any wrongdoing after a commission, formed to probe its ‘unexpected’ loss to India, blamed poor playing conditions in Chennai as well as the absence of key players from the line-up as reasons behind the defeats.

The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) formed a four-man committee after the team lost to a young India side in the one-day and T20 series last month, ending their run of seven successive series triumphs.

“The commission’s report blamed poor facilities for the defeat,” said a PBCC official. “The condition of the ground was not good and balls of substandard quality were used. The absence of key players due to non-issuance of Indian visas and injury to captain [Abdul Razzaq] was another reason.

“The commission also questioned the fitness of several current players and advised the PBCC to inject young talent into the team.”

The PBCC probed the loss in to order to bring an improvement before the blind World Twenty20 in December in India.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2012.