Karachi, Nov. 7: Pakistan cricket plunged to a new low on Sunday when leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was stopped from leaving for the UAE for the Test series against South Africa while six members of the Pakistan side currently in Dubai for the ODI series against South Africa were rapped for violating team curfew.
Kaneria, who faces spot-fixing charges during his stint with Essex was denied permission by the PCB from joining the team in Dubai for the two Tests against South Africa. Kaneria was scheduled to leave from Lahore in the early hours of Sunday. But as he was preparing to leave for the airport, Kaneria was told by the board officials to remain in Karachi till further orders. Zakir Khan, the director of cricket operations in PCB, said the board had not given clearance to Kaneria.
A similar response came from chief selector Mohsin Khan who said he couldn’t select anyone who was not cleared by the board. “Under the new regulations only those players can play who are given clearance by the board,” Mohsin said.
Meanwhile, three Pakistani cricketers have been fined while three others have been issued warnings for violating Dubai’s discipline code, a media report said on Sunday. The three cricketers fined UAE dirhams 500 each are Zulqarnain Haider, Shahzaib Hasan and Abdul Rehman. They had returned to the hotel where the team was staying after the curfew hours, Samaa TV reported.
Three others — Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq and Fawad Alam — have been issued a warning for violation of discipline. The incident occurred after the players went partying late into the night after their victory against the Proteas in Dubai on Friday.