Pak govt should probe Zulqarnain Haider’s mysterious disappearance: Zaheer Abbas

KARACHI - Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas has called on the government to order a high-level inquiry into the mysterious disappearance of wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider just hours before the final one-day international against South Africa in Dubai.

“It’s a very, very serious issue and the government of Pakistan should conduct a full-fledged inquiry into the incident,” The News quoted Zaheer, as saying.

Zulqarnain suddenly went to London after getting death threats from match-fixers following Pakistan’s stunning one-wicket triumph over South Africa in Dubai last Friday.

The 24-year-old had scored an unbeaten 19 and clipped the winning runs off the penultimate delivery as Pakistan levelled the five-match series 2-2 in the fourth one-dayer.

“It’s like a national scandal and an insult to Pakistan if such reports are true,” said Zaheer, adding, “Zulqarnain helped us win a very crucial match just a few days ago and that makes him a national hero. If he is really being hounded by some mafia then I must say that concrete action is required on an urgent basis.”

The wicketkeeper had quietly slipped out of the Grand Hyatt in Dubai early on Monday morning and boarded a London-bound flight. The player did not even discuss his plans with any of his team officials or fellow teammates. On the morning of the match, a message of Zulqarnain’s Facebook wall read: “leaving Pakistan cricket because get bad msg fr 1 man fr lose the match in last game.”

“It seems that he didn’t even tell the team management or the PCB about his plans because he feared for his life,” Zaheer noted.

Meanwhile, a former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman said that the latest controversy was another proof of Pakistan cricket being run by a weak management.

“There is no control of the board over the players and this latest incident is a clear mockery of discipline. If the present management continues to run the affairs of cricket in Pakistan, we’ll continue to be the laughing stock,” Lt Gen (retd) Tauqir Zia said in an interview.

However, former Test batsman Basit Ali felt that there was more to this story than what met the eye, as he said, “The influence of betting mafia on the game is not diminishing and I can smell something fishy in this particular incident as well.” (ANI)