Pune. Nov. 16: Pakistan’s runaway wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has run into further trouble. The cricketer, who left his team on the morning of the fifth and final one-dayer against South Africa in Dubai last week for London, is now short of money.
Speaking to this newspaper from England, Haider said, “I have now moved to my friend’s place at Manchester. I came here with £900 and cannot afford a hotel stay.” Haider is though not sure on the number of the days he can spend in England. “I haven’t decided on my return to Pakistan.
“Nor do I know if I will be in a position to invite my wife and two daughters here,” he added. “Pray for me. This is the first time I shall be celebrating Eid without my family members.”
Haider has been invited by the Lashing’s World XI, but the wicketkeeper is yet to decide on the offer. “I am thankful for the opportunity, but I need to seek permission from the British Home Minister’s Office to play for this club,” Haider said.
The club, in the past, has sheltered Pakistan’s Rashid Latif and Zimbabwean Henry Olonga in somewhat similar situations.