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Pakistan Cricket Board fine players for playing with Danish Kaneria in USA

Fawad Alam, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq and Nasir Jamshed were each fined 500,000 rupees.

Danish Kaneria played for Houston Eagles while the Pakistani players were playing for rival team Boom Boom Blasters © Getty Images
Danish Kaneria played for Houston Eagles while the Pakistani players were playing for rival team Boom Boom Blasters © Getty Images

 

Lahore: May 16, 2014

 

Five Pakistani players have been fined for appearing in exhibition matches in the United States of America alongside banned spinner Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Friday. The five, Fawad Alam, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq, Nasir Jamshed and Shazaib Hasan were each fined 500,000 rupees ($5,000 dollars), a PCB statement confirmed.

 

“After thorough investigations and after players admitting that they had participated in an event that under the ICC Regulations is considered Disapproved Cricket, their contention of not being aware of the NOC requirement was not accepted by the Committee, which recommended that each of them should be fined Rs 500, 000,” the PCB release said.

 

The five offenders featured in an unauthorised series of Twenty20 matches in Houston, Texas, last month without the permission of PCB. Kaneria was banned for life in 2012 for spot-fixing in a County game in England, which under International Cricket Council (ICC) rules effectively bars him from playing anywhere in the world.

 

Kaneria played for Houston Eagles while the Pakistani players were playing for rival team Boom Boom Blasters. The PCB investigated the matter and interviewed the players last month, when a three-member committee recommended the fines.

 

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The committee, however, cleared PCB marketing director Badar Rafae of any wrongdoing but with a reprimand. Rafae was pictured with Kaneria during these matches.

 

As for the director marketing, the committee concluded that he was neither involved in the organization nor inviting players for the event. He just briefly attended one match only on invitation of the organisers.

 

Alam appeared for Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2014 in Bangladesh in February-March while Razzaq, Jamshed and Riaz lost their places last year. Hasan played for Pakistan in the ICC World T20 2009 which they won in England.

 

“His subsequent photograph with Kaneria was a case of poor judgement, there was nothing to suggest that he conducted himself in any inappropriate manner. However, in the Committee’s opinion, he should have shown better judgement and avoided being photographed with a banned player.”

 

Hence, an official reprimand is recommended, said the release. The PCB committee was made up of comprised of domestic cr8icket director Intikhab Alam, security manager Azam Khan and international cricket manager Usman Wahla. The committee said Kaneria did not appear before it.

 

“Kaneria is serving a life ban and did not appear at the hearing nor did he respond to notice in writing. the committee referred his case to the PCB Integrity Committee for further suitable action against him.”

 

Kaneria earlier this month lost his appeal against the life ban in a London high court, but has since vowed to fight on in higher courts. Three other Pakistani players — Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer — are serving five years bans over a separate 2010 spot-fixing case.

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