Cricket: Pakistan players unhappy with the board
The players had reportedly sought permission from Intikhab Alam, former coach and manager who is now a PCB Director, and had received verbal assurance.
“It has transpired that since none of the players has applied for NOCs in writing from the PCB and they did not submit details of the organisers and the match, the PCB has refused permission,” said an official before adding that the players were now blaming Intikhab for the confusion.
“Even if Intikhab gave them permission verbally, the board can’t act without having something in writing. None of the players bothered to seek permission or an NOC in writing from the relevant authorities in the board. How do they expect to get permission then.”
The official added that under existing regulation, no player can confirm his appearance in a match or enter into a deal with any foreign club without taking the PCB into confidence and getting an NOC.
“All players who now go to play in foreign leagues have to follow this practice. It was adopted for the Bangladesh Premier League and even when players signed contracts with English counties.”
Players thought verbal assurance was enough
Misbah and Afridi were in Thailand for a commercial shoot and did not have time to write to the PCB while they, and the others, thought the verbal clearance from Intikhab was enough and he would talk to the board himself. The organisers, meanwhile, are not happy with the situation as tickets for the match were sold on the basis of these Pakistan stars confirming their appearance.
“The organisers point out that tickets were sold because they advertised that Misbah, Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Akmal and Hammad Azam were the players who would take part in the match. They even arranged electronic Canadian visas for the players after confirmation from them and they fear if the players don’t show up, they could face heavy financial losses.”
While a PCB official said that if the players applied for the permission in writing even now, it can all be processed within a few days.
“It can still be done but we have to see what the team management thinks about sending players abroad when the national camp for the Sri Lanka tour is due to start from May 12.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2012.
COMMENTS (8)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
I bought the ticket for dinner with players for 200 plus dollars. It is way too much for a person like me, and now Pakistani players are not coming. I am so so sad and shocked by this unprofessionalism.
@Shahzad: I hate to break it to you but the kind of thinking that you have shown in your comment is exactly the reason we have had so many problems in the past. Asking one person "verbally" is never enough. Most of us work in professional enviornment and know that asking someone something verbally is never considered official approval.
Well done PCB. Anything not in writing shouldnt be taken seriously.
Processes, Documentations, Rules: We have to follow these my friends to strengthen our institutions.
What is wrong with PCB? It seems like they love to be part of the controversy all the time. If players have sought an approval from Intikhab and he said yes verbally then the board needs to take it up with their senior employer Intikhab. He should had told players he can't say yes or no so they should write to PCB to get written approval.
I am a huge Afridi fan but unprofessional things like these have really destroyed his image and the image of the Pakistan team in general. There is no one player or a group of players etc who should be blamed for this situation. It's a culture of getting everything that you want and that too verbally! This culture is deep rooted and can't be removed overnight, I am behind the PCB on this one, I think they are doing it right this time, no matter what the financial losses.
So sad for the fans that wanted to see their favorite crickters--hopefully, there will still be time to approve all their paperwork. Shahid Afridi is coming to Canada for Islamic Relief fundraiser anyways, so hopefully they can push all required paperwork thru quickly, and all formalities can be completed in time so fans can enjoy the game.
Misbah is an educated person, he should have sought permission in writing. Verbal permission, and that too from a spineless old dude, who does not remember in the evening what he ate in the lunch is a stupid mistake.