KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket bosses have been summoned by the Senate to answer questions over Mohammad Asif’s detention in Dubai after an illegal substance was found in his wallet.
The Senate Committee on Sports has requisitioned a meeting within the next 14 days to “discuss the shameful incident that took place this week in Dubai where Test cricketer Mohammad Asif was held by the UAE Police for possession of a banned substance”.
The request for the meeting was made by three members of the Sports Committee — Haroon Khan, Enver Baig and Col (retd) Tahir Mashhadi — to the committee’s chairman on Wednesday.
Baig, one of the staunchest critics of the PCB, told ‘The News’ that the members have also asked the Board to submit an audited balance sheet and income statement of the PCB. In addition, the Board officials have also been asked to provide details of PCB’s deposits in various banks.
The Senators have been probing the Board’s bank statements for quite some time now. For them, the Mohammad Asif episode is yet another reason to fire some tough questions towards the PCB top brass.
Senator Baig believes that the PCB should have distanced itself away from the disgraced Asif, who also tested positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone back in 2006.
“He (Asif) was not on national duty, when he was detained by the UAE authorities,” Baig pointed out.
“So there was no need for the PCB to get involved. If the man is guilty then he should face the consequences,” he added.
Baig took a swipe at the Board’s top officials saying that they are sending the wrong messages to other players by giving all out backing to law-breakers.
“By supporting players who are breaking the law and bringing a bad name to the country, the PCB is only encouraging other cricketers. I don’t believe that’s the way to run cricket,” he stressed.
Baig recalled that the PCB worked overtime to help Asif get a drug ban overturned in spite of the fact that the bowler had confessed taking performance-enhancing substances.
“Now the PCB is once again spending millions of rupees on providing legal help to the detained cricketer. They have hired an expensive lawyer in Dubai for him. I’m aware that Asif himself made a lot of money recently (by playing in the IPL) and surely he can afford to hire a lawyer himself,” said Baig, a member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.
Baig said that he and fellow Senators want PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf’s presence in the meeting mandatory.
Ashraf skipped the previous meeting the Sports Committee last month on the pretext that
he had to attend an important meeting with an International Cricket Council (ICC) official in Dubai.
At that time, Baig had disputed his excuse and had alleged that Ashraf chickened out of the meeting to avoid facing a grilling from the committee.
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Senate summons PCB bosses following Asif’s episode
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