Cricketers’ action in bad taste

The letter was sent on the directive of members of the Senate standing committee who were annoyed at “ungentlemanly behaviour” of the players in not attending the lunch arranged at an exclusive Islamabad club after giving their consent, the sources said.

The players never turned up even as Senate standing committee members Aqil Shah and Iqbal Haider with PSB director general Zakir Syed and PCB ad hoc panel member Javed Zaman Khan were waiting for them for over two hours.

The provocation was said to be a wordy duel betweenthe players and Senate panel members at a hearing they attended before the scheduled lunch, the sources said.

Some players were critical that news of the previous meeting had been leaked to the media with one of them reportedly commenting, “You asked us about our assets and the next day every paper splashed the news.”

All 10 players attended the hearing, which was part of the Senate panel’s inquiry into match-fixing. It was concluded that too much publicity was affecting player morale and hence the issue had to be settled before the next season started.

The committee praised the team’s overcall World Cup performance but stressed the need to purge the national squad of any “black sheep” and urged that players disclose names of any teammate indulging in betting and match-fixing on promise of anonymity.