A huge trouble could be brewing in Pakistan cricket as the inquiry committee looking into their performances on the recent Australian tour have recommended heavy punishments for some of the big-name players.
If the recommendations are approved by the PCB chief, Ejaz Butt, then it could mean that the Pakistani team for the ICC World T20 that begins in the West Indies from the last week of April, could have a new look about it.
The Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar, have been found guilty of defying the Board’s orders and could be penalised Rs.20-30 lakh. Kamran had been dropped from the third Test match at Hobart, but continued making statements to the media, to the contrary. His brother Umar feigned an injury and said that he will not play in the game if his brother was not selected!
Apart from the brothers, Shahid Afridi was involved in a ball-tampering incident which brought him a ban of two games from the ICC. He will probably lose his T20 captaincy for a long time and could be heavily penalised as well.
Then, there were Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik, both of whom have been accused of trying to undermine the captain. While the exact details are not yet known, the pair could be banned from cricket for a period of one year.
Already Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf do not play in the T20 format of the game, and if all these players do not get selected for the World T20, then it could mean that the Pakistani side has an entirely new look to it.
Such has been the dip in Pakistan’s fortunes in the last one year since they managed to win the ICC World T20 tournament, that they are currently fifth-favourite to defend the title; Blue Square offering 7/1 for a repeat performance of last year. Australia (9/2 at Bet Fred) has climbed up to being the joint-favourite with South Africa (9/2 at Boylesports), while Bwin offers 19/4 for an Indian win. India had lifted the trophy in the inaugural edition in 2007.