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The Pakistan Cricket Board’s stringent disciplinary action against erring players, including indefinite bans on former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan, was backed by the country’s President and PCB chief patron Asif Ali Zardari.

Well placed sources said that the PCB had kept Zardari and the sports ministry aware of the recommendations made by the inquiry committee which probed the team’s poor performance in Australia.

“The board moved against the seven players after getting approval from the top,” one source said. The PCB said it had placed an indefinite ban on Yousuf and Younus as their infighting had a bad influence on the team.

The Board also announced a 12-month ban on Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved and fines of Rs three million each on Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal and Rs two million on Umar Akmal. The board had also placed Shahid and Kamran under a six-month probation.

One source said during the hearing of the inquiry committee and after speaking to the coach, manager, captain and other players and even the support staff, it became clear that some players had their own law in the team.

A lot of hue and cry was raised here after no Pakistani player found a buyer in the IPL auction with the government also slamming the franchises and the Indian board.

“The fact is that some IPL franchises had wanted to sign on Pakistani players but were getting threats from extremist elements of dire consequences if they took Pakistani players in their team,” one source disclosed.

“The franchises approached the IPL governing council to provide security for the Pakistani players but were told that security for players was not the direct responsibility of the organisers.

“The franchises then also wrote to the Indian government but it responded that it was responsible for providing security for only national teams not for individual players taking part in a private tournament,” the source said.

He said when the IPL franchises were told they would have to arrange for the security of the players themselves, they decided against bidding for the Pakistani cricketers at the auction.
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